Get Free
by rddrgn
Summary: The story takes place after Eclipse when it is uncovered how badly Jacob has been injured. Bella goes to visit him and in his injured state she realizes her love for him and leaves Edward to start her human life. In that year her and Jacob get married but it is not a happy ever after. Watch as Bella's life unravels again.
1. Chapter 1

The night was quiet as it always is when Jacob's away, which is always bad. My mind jumps to memories it shouldn't, memories that should be erased, but Jacob's absence brings them to the surface. Without his warmth to suffocate me there is no stopping from the thoughts going back to...my old life. Sometimes, on these cold nights, I like to leave the heater off and touch the glass of the window. I close my eyes and think I'm touching his face-Edward's face. I made the right choice. Atleast that's what I tell myself.

I watch the snow fall down sideways out the window and I smile, thinking of Jacob's return and how I'll know it's him because I'll see the steam. I made the right choice. La Push is beautiful in the winter, how could I miss this? We have a home now, settled in next to the others and my new friends. I run with wolves now. I'm not Vampire Chick anymore. I made the right choice.

When I'm alone I start to doubt that. I close my eyes and think I can feel Edward's penetrating stare trying to read my thoughts. I close my eyes and feel his body overwhelming mine in it's presence and beauty. My flaws could never compete with his perfection, unlike Jacob. Atleast with him we're evenly matched. But I could have been beautiful. I could have been beautiful once.

The timer on the microwave goes off, thankfully, and I am forced to leave the path my mind was just about to venture on. I walk from the livingroom and into the kitchen which is always warm. I grab the hot cocoa from the microwave with ovenmitts-something Jacob has forced me to do when he is away. The corners are all padded down and every entrance his locked with the key that only he has. He wants to protect me, he thinks I'll hurt myself on accident or on purpose. I dip the marshmallows in the hot cocoa and wonder if I should make Jake a cup, he'll be cold when he gets back.

_"Bella..."_

It's my mind again. I turn around but there is no one around me but lonliness and empty space. I had been hearing his voice again. I think back to those days when he had left me and I think it's his own damn fault that he's alone. If he hadn't abandoned me then I wouldn't have found Jacob and he wouldn't have fallen in love with me. If he hadn't abandoned me I'd be like him and we'd be happily ever after by now, right? Is this not happily ever after though?

"Bella...," I look up and there Jake is, shirtless and dripping wet, watching me.

My eyes open in surprise and I see there is a small puddle forming around him, "Jake! What did I tell you about the puddles!"

"Sorry," his voice has an edge to it that I don't like. But I know he is when he gets in his moods. I know that I have to ignore it.

"It's alright. I'll mop it up while you go get changed," I don't look at him. He's staring at me the wrong way and he's not moving yet. There's something wrong. I grab a new mug, "I was going to make you some hot cocoa but I wasn't sure when you'd be returning. I didn't want it to get cold."

"You could have warmed it up," is he picking a fight?

I put the stuff in my hands down on the counter and look up at him, as if fed up. His eyes are black and dangerous, I know that look. It's the look he gives the members of his pack when they bring up my past teasingly. It's always fun and games but one of them comes back injured after a meeting. I leave my hands down, "Did I do something wrong?"

"You're thinking about him," his words come out seperately like barks and I try not to look shocked or too confused.

"Thinking about who?" I ask in a tired tone. He's been picking fights with me all week and I know it's about him. I know it's about Edward.

"You know who I'm talking about!"

I cringe backward and wrap my arms around my chest, defending me from a blow that hasn't been delivered yet. His voice is dangerous but his actions are even more so. I lean my back against the counter and whisper, "I'm not thinking about _him_."

"Liar!"

I shut my eyes because he sounds like he's getting closer and I can't find any corners that I can curl up into.

"I know you're thinking about him! The house is freezing! I've been watching for ten minutes and it's written all over your face! What were you thinking about him! Huh? Is he better than me! Is that what you're thinking?"

"JACOB LET GO!"

He releases me and I crumple to the floor. He had grabbed my arms so fast I had no time to register what to do or how to deflect the attack. I can feel bruises already forming at my shoulders and my eyes begin to tear as my skin slowly realizes how hard he had grabbed me. I'm at his feet again. His bare feet covered in darkness and what ever he had been running home in.

"I know you were thinking about him."

"So what if I was!" I whimper, holding onto myself as I press my back to the lower cabinets. I'm starting to cry a little, "We're married, Jacob, isn't that enough?"

He slams his fist on the counter and I can hear the granite snap and crack, sending shards everywhere, "No! Because you still fucking love him!"

"You don't know that!" I scream as I try to scramble to my feet and run away. But he's too fast. He grabs my by my elbow and yanks me to him so hard my shoulder dislocates and I scream as I slam into his chest.

"I know that! I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR FACE! YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT WHEN YOU THINK OF ME!" he's shouting in my face and I feel like he can kill me. He's shaking so bad I think he's going to shift right in front of me and break my body apart.

"Jacob please!"

He releases me again and I slump down, craddling my arm and crying harder because it hurts so bad and I know the only way to get it back together is going to take more pain. There's silence and I'm sobbing and I wonder what someone said to him to make him feel this way. Why is he so angry? Why is he hurting me so much?

He bends down but I flinch away again, "Jacob stop! Stop it! Please!"

"I...Bella...I'm..."

I peak at his face and I see he is my Jacob again and the wild crazy man is gone. He's my light-hearted sunshine but his face is distorted into pure terror that hurts just as much as my shoulder. I wrap my good arm around his neck and pull him to me as he starts to cry and I clutch this Jake to me, the human one.

"I'm so sorry...Bella, I'm so so sorry..."

I rub his back as I try to calm down and calm him down too. We've both been captured, we're both victims here. He was right. I shouldn't have been thinking about him, I shouldn't have gotten him so upset, I should have made him the stupid hot cocoa, I should look at him more. He holds my face into his hands and kisses me softly and apologeticly and I know it's my Jake and not the wild man. The wild man kisses hard and bruises my lips. Jacob is gentle.

"Bella, please forgive me..."

"Jacob...shhh...shhh. It's okay..."I say, trying to calm him.

"You're arm!" he look down at me and starts crying harder.

"I'm fine!"

"No you're not! Look what I've done!" He stands up as if he's aboth to run away.

"Jacob don't leave me!" I scream and he stops, he waits in his tracks and I begin to sob again, "Jacob please don't leave me!"

He slowly lifts me up by my waist and cradles me against him like the wounded puppy I am. Against him I am warm and the earlier cold has vanished from every part of me. I'm home again in his arms and I know I'm safe.


	2. Chapter 2

We sit in the parkinglot of the hospital huddled close together. The heater in the rabbit is broken but I don't get it fixed because I have my own personal heater, that's what I tell Jacob. I'm excited but I keep that crushed down low, crushed down very low, and I focus on the warmth of Jacob's skin on my cheek and the way he smell. He doesn't use sprays or special soaps unless I leave them there on accident. Most recently I switched his body wash with mine and he smells of lavander. It makes me laugh to smell him and it makes the members of his pack laugh too-especially since he's okay with being laughed at right now.

"Are you sure you don't want to go in?" I ask Jacob as I press my mouth to his shoulder.

He tenses up a little but his voice is come and composed, "Yeah, I'm just going to wait out here."

"We can leave," I say as I turn my head upward to look at him. Even sitting down he's taller than me so I have to place my chin on the curve of his shoulder.

"No, we should have came last night if anything. Bella...I...," he looks away and I can see the pain written perfectly in his features. He's confused and lost and he doesn't know how he should be feeling. I want so badly to know what someone said or what someone thought.

"That's enough Jacob. It was an accident. It's not your fault," I uses the gentlest of tones with him, treating him as if he were a child that had broken my favorite vase. I use my good hand to rub his leg and I nuzzle his shoulder with my face, breathing in his scent again.

He relaxes a fraction but his eyes are steady on the hospital as if waiting for someone to come out. I wonder what he would do if he were to see...him...Would he attack, even though he had always treated Jacob with so much respect? What if he were to see Carlisle? Or Esme? Two vampires that I miss so much and know must be taking the break up badly. I allow myself to be excited to see Carlisle. I can do that, surely Jacob isn't jealous of him.

"I should go now. The faster I get this over with the faster we can go," I say softly although I make no move to back away.

"Wh-..." he stops. I can tell another fight was going to brew but I'm still not healed from the last one. He knows he owes me some time to heal. "Fine."

"You can come in with me," I probe, knowing I'll feel stronger with him to hold my hand as they push my shoulder back into place.

"No." his voice is soft but I still jump, sending shards of pain through out my entire body. He sees this and quickly fixes his actions by turning his body to me. His hands take my face and lift it up toward his as if I were a doll. His thumbs brush across my face-over my cheeks, along my nose, across my lips-and I'm puddy in his fire hands. I close my eyes and sink into this gentle side that I try to hold onto so much, "I'll wait here for you, Bella."

I don't move yet. I wait until his fingers leave my face and then I nod and whisper, "Okay."

He places a kiss on my lips and I return it in the same manner.

I jump down from the rabbit but before I shut the door I look back at him and say, "I love you, Jacob."

He sighs softly and nods, "I love you too."

I cross the front of the rabbit and walk to the entrance of the hospital. He's guilty for what how he behaved. I can see that in his eyes and in the way he returns my love. He's still jealous and hurt for how I treated him with Edward. He loves me, I think, that's why he acts this way. He's afraid that one day I'll wake up and think I made the wrong choice. But I'm afraid he'll do the same thing. I'm afraid he'll cast me aside as damaged goods. But that's marraige isn't it?

"Bella..."

A cold chill runs through me and I see Carlisle, Dr. Cullen, standing with a clip board at the front desk. I think about my unanswered wedding invitation but push it to the back. This is a good thing seeing him. He holds the clip board tightly and I'm afraid it will snap. He blinks his golden eyes at me with his mouth agape and I'm surprised because I thought I'd never be able to scare a Cullen. He looks like he's not breathing and in this second I take in his entire appearance and the slight alterations only I would be able to notice. His close aren't immaculate as they always were, his hair isn't perfectly combed back, he looks a little strained and a little less self-composed. I wonder what I've done to him.

I try to smile, "Hey, Dr. Cullen."

He looks grim as he lowers his head and returns to his "human" position. He leans against the counter and looks to the nurse, "I'll take care of her in my office."

"Alright, Dr. Cullen, wha-"

"It's fine," he smiles his charming smile and it seems as if he's returned back to normal. He stands up right and turns toward the direction of his office and extends his free hand in that direction as well, "After you."

I nod and begin to walk, feeling as though I might lose my footing at any second. I try not to smell him and I try not to stand too close. I try not to look at his marble skin or his perfect gait or his perfect eyes and his perfect little mannerisms. I try to focus on the pain in my shoulder that has increased since I have become uncomfortable.

We don't speak until we get into his office. He closes the door behind me, locks it, and motions toward the patient bed, "Hop up. Tell me what's wrong."

"It's..my shoulder," I say, my face scrunching as I pull apart my blouse to show it to him. His eyes take it in with the same kind of fear and despair that he had welcomed me with. He doesn't touch me or go near me, maybe he knows how Jacob will act if I smell too much like vampire. He seems deep in thought as his eyes look over the bruises on my shoulder and arm that I don't bother hiding. I begin to explain, "I was with Jacob at our house and I was at the top of the stairs...He had just come home and he was all wet and making puddles everywhere. I was just throwing his clothes too the basement when I slipped and I was going to fall right down and he grabbed me...you know how strong they are."

He doensn't respond to my words. There is the hint of a scowl, you'd think he was Edward. I shouldn't have thought of the name. Without Jacob here to protect me from Carlisle's cold I can't help but to relish in it as I blink and breathe in their scent that I miss so much. His cheek so smooth and white and hard and soft at the same time. It's like cutting out pieces of a magazine to make his image that I long to see, even just once.

But I have to stop, "What's the diagnoses, doc?"

"It's definitely dislocated," he says with a sigh. His arms uncross and he steps away from me and to the counter. He grabs two gloves and I have to marvel again at how he appears to be so human and not human at the same time. He slips on his gloves slowly, even though if he really wanted to they would be on now, "I'm going to pop it back into place but I can't promise it wont hurt."

"I know it's going to hurt," I say, closing my eyes tightly in the blink as if to prepare myself for the pain I know will come. I open my eyes and see him studying me, "But I trust you, Carlisle."

He gives a weak smile as if he's in pain, as if my presence hurts him. In his eyes I can see a thousand words he wishes to share but is too smart to do so. He knows one wrong word will send me going on a downward spiral of some sort. He knows one wrong move and I'll crumble. He walks up to me slowly and with his fingertips he takes hold of my arm and my body in some odd manner. I tense up slightly-half because I know what he will do and half because of his closeness that makes my mind swim with memories-my breathing gets heavy but he softly asks, "How's Charlie?"

Sadness fills my heart as his face fills my brain completely, "...Charlie."

Pop.

My arm feels as if it's been ripped apart from my body and the pain that takes hold of my it is unimaginable and so sudden that a blood curling scream escapes my throat before I can surpress it. A choked out sob follows and then another but Carlisle is there with his cold touch to sooth the harshness of what has just happened. James, it reminds me of the bite. It's that kind of pain and helplessness I am drenched in. I lean my head against him and he holds me up to stop me from falling down. I'm weak with pain and I wonder if Jacob will come running in here to see what the matter was.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he sighs.

"I-It's okay,"I whisper, my eyes squeezed shut, my good arm clinging to his lab coat. I take in deep breaths and it's the wrong thing to do because I lose my control again. I'm reminded of the day in school when we had to check our blood type and I was faint and Edward carried me to the nurse. The one day before I had known but had suspected that I loved him. So close he is, so close that we're touching.

"No."

I look up quickly and Carlisle's eyes are closed as tight as mine and he's facing the door that his locked and closed. I pull apart from him and am back to myself. I'm a married woman now. I'm with Jacob. I picked my sun over my night. I made the right choice. But I can't help but to wonder what Carlisle said "no" to. Was someone waiting on the other side of that door? I look back at him, "What is it?"

"I don't like the way those bruises look," he's walking away from me and flipping through the cabinets and drawers, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine," I answer quickly.

He finds a brace and walks to me. Slowly, as if I were bird with a broken wing, he fits my arm into it. The weight on my shoulder is taken off and I feel so much better than I had before. He smiles softly as he admires his work, as if he already knows the pain he has lifted. He looks into my eyes and I'm reminded of the way Charlie had looked at me the last time I saw him. Two months ago I visited him and Jacob called my cell phone twenty times but I left it in the rabbit and he called Charlie's house phone but we were too busy talking that we didn't hear it. Jacob came there, running, and demanded my attention and we fought on the front lawn but I said we'll talk about it home. I looked at Charlie and I said goodbye and he nodded, giving me the same look Carlisle is giving me now. He smiles and says, "You need to avoid any physical activity and lifting of heavy objects. Ice is welcomed but not necessary and I'll give you a presription for some pain medicine that should fix you right up."

I nod my head and smile, "Thanks."

He grabs his little blue notebook and begins to write "Bella Swan" but I stop him.

"It's Black," I say, keeping my eyes on the book.

His hand has paused in midair as if paralyzed by Jane or some other Volturi. I look up to his face but it is a mask, "Right." He rips that paper away and throws it into the garbage can, each action completed with the care that gives nothing and everything away. He continues to write, as if hurt,"When was the wedding?"

"You were invited," I say quickly. A sudden panic fills me. I made then an invitation and sent it in the mail. He and Esme and Alice and Jasper and Emmett and Rosalie were invited although I was sure only Carlisle and Esme would come. It broke my heart that they didn't but I put on a brave face. I enjoyed my wedding.

He rips out the paper and hands it to me, looking away as he puts the notepad on the counter, "Must have been a mix up in the mail."

"Must have," I repeat, keeping my eyes on him, trying to figure things out that are beyond me.

He looks to me and says, "You're free to go now. There will, of course be no charge."

"Wait...I wanted to talk to you," I say, although I'm already living on borrowed time. "How is everyone? How's Esme?"

He looks down briefly and for the smallest of seconds he appears as though he may cry. My heart completely shatters but he puts on the mask again, "Fine. Everyone is just fine. I hope to see you under brighter circumstances."

This is the goodbye. He ushers me to the door and unlocks it. But I don't want to go. I nod my head, "Hopefully."

He opens the door for me and holds it so that I can exit in front of him, "You go home and rest. Doctor's orders."

I smile but it's not real, just like his, "Sure thing."

I take a step into the hall but I catch an oder of something I long to smell. I look down the hall and feel my heart almost rupture as hair, copper unkept hair, above the crowd is burned into my sight. Carlisle blocks the view and points to the exit, "Goodbye, Bella."

My eyes go straight to the floor as if I'm a child that has stumbled upon Christmas presents, "Goodbye, Carlisle."

And I walk back to the Rabbit and the Wolf.


	3. Chapter 3

**Edward's POV**

"Come on, Edward."

_"Leave him. He'll come out when he's ready."_

"The children are expecting you. I promised you would come."

_"He's not feeling up to it today."_

"Please, Alice. Let him decide how he is feeling. It's been two weeks. He was doing so well."

_"Carlisle...you know why."_

"If anything it should help him. Richard is a fine young man. If anything having the same blood type as...If anything it will help him to associate that scent with other things."

_"I just don't feel good about today, Carlisle. I'm not getting a proper reading."_

"Alice...he will be fine. I'll make sure of that."

_"Do you promise?"_

"I swear."

_"Okay."_

From under the pillow and the sheets and the darkness I can just make out Alice slipping inside the room like the little sprite she is. She hardly touches the ground. Her mind is the blanket of velvet that lays on top of me, a blue and brown array of colors. She slowly takes her seat on the edge of the bed beside me but I make no move. Her hand is gentle as it touches my back beneath the mound and I can hear her lips move as she whispers something to Jasper. They have gotten so good that they can have conversations without my being able to pick it up.

I'm hit with a sudden boost of opptimism but knowing that it comes from Jasper, positioned in the corner of the room, brings it back down to a dull numbness. Alice leans down so that her head rests on top of mine under the pillow. I don't know how much time passes but I'm certain they have gotten ready early for this occasion. Her mind is the darkness that she must be seeing behind her eyes as she tries to look for the future. She has been having that trouble lately, I wonder what that means. Will I be meeting the woman that broke my heart soon, I don't know.

_"Edward..."_

Her voice cracks as if she is going to cry and before I can feel guilty or angry or completely depressed I am met with numbness again.

_"Carlisle thinks you should go to work with him today. He says the children's ward has been asking for you. Don't you want to see them again?"_

I think about those children. So close to death and yet so filled with life. Their smiles are haunting and they remind me of the gift I have and if it were not against greater law I would turn them all. That's what my lonliness has reduced me to. Wishing that I could surround myself with little lifegaurds like Alice. The children called me 'Grumpy' and they climbed on top of me because I didn't move. They made me read them stories that I had no knowledge of. They made me teach them computer games.

_"Eddy...are you in there?"_

I let out a soft grumble. Some sort of noise that I use to signal that I was aware and I was comprehending what was around me. Alice pulls back and slowly I emerge from the fort of blankets she had used. They don't smell like her anymore. But Richard does. Carlisle and Alice are right. He's why I haven't ventured out in two weeks. I spent my time trying to decide which part destroyed me. Was it the scent or the disappointment? I'm almost sure it was the disappointment now.

_"Are you going to work with Carlisle?"_ Alice asks. She uses the faintest of speech around me because she knows actual conversations are such a strain. I nod my head briefly and behind her eyes is a flicker of hope, real hope. _"Great. We've already picked out an outfit for you."_

An outfit? When did that happen? I turn around and Jasper is holding his arms outward as if he were a clothes rack. I feel a tiny lift in me. In brighter times I would have laughed. I lift my arms over my head and Alice quickly undresses and dresses me. This is what I've been reduced to. Infancy.

_"Come on. Carlisle's waiting just outside the door,"_ she says as she takes my arm and moves me along. My feet hit the ground in dreadful stomps. I'm beginning to change my mind.

But then the door opens and it is light outside and Carlisle is waiting for me. He doesn't smile but he doesn't frown either. He masks his emotions, something no one else but Alice and Jasper are able to do. They've deserted our home. Everyone has.

"It's good to see you, son. Come on. It's a special day at the hospital. It's little Tina's birthday. You remember her right?" His question sounds like fleating words hanging together on a string.

I nod my head and speak, but my voice is a hoarse monster of what it had been, "The one from Alaska."

I can them react in surprise. Alice is elated and Jasper is jublie but Carlisle still has his mask. He nods his head, "Right. She said she wanted to see you."

I nod my head and look down. The conversation is over.

We flee down the steps, Alice still holding onto me. At the door Carlisle looks behind her and I can hear him thinking in his tiny thinking voice _"Let him do this himself."_

Alice looks up at me with a little frown but she releases my arm and smiles, stepping back to cling onto Jasper now. She smiles and speaks in her normal voice, something I haven't heard in ages, "Good luck today, Eddy."

I would smile if I could. Instead I nod to her and nod to Jasper my goodbye.

We take Carlisle's car and the further we get from home the more there is a crushing weight sinking me into the seat. Without my morphine I feel as though I am going through my withdrawals. I'm unsure if I can handle this. Jasper should have come with me.

"He needs to rest too."

"What?"

The answer came as a shock. Am I that predictable?

"I don't know what it is...in your weakend state your thoughts have been flying to us on certain levels, depending on how forcefully you think them. I didn't think it was right to tell you. Not until you felt a little better and it eventually faded," his explanations make perfect snese. It's the reason Esme could not comfort me anymore. It's the reason Emmett and Rosalie **had** to leave. It's the reason everyone left has been so good at taking care of me, "Exactly."

"I feel...I feel like a failure."

"Don't say that," Carlisle's voice is desperate and broken. He sounds like the ghost of the happy man he had once been. Rage blooms inside of me. How could she do that to them. To those that have treated her with such kindness? "Edward."

"I'm...I'm sorry."

"Today will be good for you. You'll have fun," Carlisle's voice is hopeful but instead of hope I fel guily for my inability to feel as he does. I can't find a brighter side. The day in Forks appears darker and darker. "Please."

"I c-ant."

I'm breaking down again. Tumbling apart to pieces like a china doll that has been slammed at a window and all the little pieces hold her face and her name, "Stop! Stop it this instant!"

"You don't know what it's like! It's not the same for you!"

"Don't you think I've put myself in your position?"

"It's not the same! If Esme left you, you would still go on! You would go on for us and the same is Rosalie left Emmett and Alice left Jasper! You have support!"

"What do you call this! What do you call Alice and Jasper never leaving your side, Edward? What do you call us hunting and feeding you as if you were a child?"

"It's not the same!"

"Please! EXPLAIN to me why we are no good to you!"

"Because I drove her away! I MADE her leave! If I didn't leave her and I didn't usher her into _HIS_ arms she would still be here with me! It's all my fault, Carlisle! If I had just turned her when she _begged_ me to after Italy none of this would be a question! If I...If I had just..."

My voice trails off and for some reason my mind is a bit clearer. I don't have the desperate nagging anguish inside of me so much. It's still there, but it's not so panicked and violent. Carlisle takes a deep breath and he whispers, "Do you feel better now that you have that off your chest?"

He yelled at me. I look to him, "Do you?"

Suddenly we're in the parkinglot of the hospital, in his spot, but he has yet to answer me. I don't need him to answer. Without reading his thoughts I can already tell he feels miserable. He feels like a horrible father but I am the horrible son.

"I do. I need you to yell at me every once in a while. I need you to show me how ungrateful I can be."

"That wasn't the right wait to do it."

"Is there a right way to do anything?"

My question hangs in the air as we enter the building. Already there are patients lined up from last night's shift. The smell of blood, free and pumping, discomforts me and I remember that I have to be on my best behavior. My depression is no excuse for a lack of contr-

"Heeeeey, Ed-Man! What's up! Didn't think you'd ever come back!"

I shut of my airway passages as soon as he arrives. Richard. I can't smile, I can't even pretend to smile because I know as soon as I open my mouth there will be the fraction of a taste on my tongue from a cut he has hidden behind a band-aid on his finger. He thinks: _Poor guy. Still not over that break up. I was right to break up with Jenine. She woulda broke my heart like that. Fuck bitches, get money._

"Come on, bro. No love for, Richie?" he asks. I hate him for his blood type but selfishly I wonder if I could turn him into one of us. He would be a fun addition, wouldn't he? So lively and happy and joyful. Surely that wouldn't leave him.

"I'm sorry, Richard but today is not a good day," Carlisle quickly interjects. He must have gotten the small drift in thought. "He's going to be visiting the children's ward."

"Ohh, for Tina's birthday right?" He asks and suddenly I am hit with the image of Tina. Poor sick little Tina, now without her beach blonde hair.

I nod my head and speak with the reserve of oxygen I have in my lungs, "Yeah. For Tina."

_Maybe I should watch him, make sure he doesn't scare the kids._ "Nice! I was thinkin' of stopping by there on one of my breaks!"

"That would be nice. I'm sure she would enjoy all three of us visiting her," Carlisle is quick to the rescue. He grabs my arm and begins to pull me away, "Always a pleasure."

"Same here, Doc," Richard smiles. _So fucking weird._

"Are you alright?" Carlisle whispers under his breath.

I take in my first breath of air and memories poor into my brain as if the dam had been over flooded. I close my eyes and Carlisle guides me around as if I'm a sick patient. The memories turn into a giant picture of her sitting in the lunchroom for the first time. All little moments of her speech hush to the sound of Jessica introducing us unintentionally. Our eyes met. Back when I thought she was just a girl.

"Edward?"

I open my eyes and see we are in the children's ward while everyone still slumbers. The nurses look to me with happiness and pleasure and they think things about my handsomeness and what they would do if they were a few years younger. The smell still lingers on the tip of my nostrils, as does the memories but somehow I can navigate my way through them. I nod my head and look to Carlisle, "Yes?"

He gives me an encouraging smile, "The nurses have a question."

I look to them, waiting patiently. One of the nurses, Patty-the only one that doesn't think of me as a sexual object-smiles as she holds out a costume bag with the picture of a clown on front, "It's your size."

A smile escapes my saddness. I'm taken by surprise and hearts flutter and Carlisle smiles happily. I nod my head as I take the bag, "Surely."

"You've done such a great job, Edward, everyone is so happy," Carlisle seems to be a living testament to his words. He has the real smile I haven't seen in ages and that makes me not frown. "You should take a break."

"But I'm not tired," I protest. Since being "Grumpy the Clown" I have yet to have one thought of turning anyone into a vampire and for me that is a great thing.

Carlisle sighs, understanding my pain, "That's the problem."

It is then that I am reminded of my persona. I'm a human boy, born to suffer to human ailments. I must be tired. I nod my head, "Should we go on a coffee break?"

"Sure. Go get changed in one of the bathrooms. I just have to tell Linda I'll be taking my break."

I nod my head again and walk to the men's bathroom. I have had three encounters with Richard today and on the third I managed to tell a joke. It was small at that but it made him laugh and it reminded me that I still have my humor. This means that slowly, painfully slowly, I can survive. I look in the mirror and start to recognize the man looking back at me. Although covered in paint and a red nose, my eyes start to look familiar.

I grab a papertowel and begin to wipe off the makeup. _Where did minnie Cullen go?_

Richard opens the door but I'm prepaired for him. I can breathe easy, not very easy, but easy enough. He smiles wide, "HEY!"

I nod my head, "Hello, Richard."

"Eddy-Man, I was thinking. I'm having a party on Saturday and I was wondering if you would come. Now, now, I know what you're thinking. Yes, there will be drinking, and sexy ladies, AND maybe some marijuana and I understand that's not your shit but listen...it will be fun. It'll get your mind off of...things." His thoughts scream: _Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please come. Please. Please! Please! Please!_

His eyes are filled with the human hopefulness I have seen only in the eyes of the children here. Richard has an innocence that is my weakness. I can't let him down. I nod my head, "Alright."

"Yes! You wont regret it man!" He runs to the door but there's something wrong. He adds with happiness, "You really wont!"

He leaves but I can still follow his scent. I know it's him. But there's something different. Somewhere, a little further off and coming closer is...it...it can't be.

_NO. _

It's Carlisle and suddenly I'm bombarded with her image. A vortex opens at my core and drags me to my knees as I watch her-hair longer than ever before, skin tanner too, frame a little thicker, overall healthier-come in. My inside fall into the vortex and Carlisle is screaming in his head.

_Edward go! Please! Go! I'll take care of this! Go!_

But I shout back: **I HAVE TO SEE HER.**

But still I'm unable to move. I'm a crumbled paper ball on the floor being burned by a sinister little girl. I can do nothing but watch as Carlisle takes care of her. I can do nothing but feel her presence as Carlisle looks everywhere but in her eyes, the one place that will destroy me.

_Please, Edward. Please. You're only hurting yourself. This is only hurting you._

But I can't move. I sink deeper and deeper into myself as he locks them in his office, so close, just walls away. I thought the sight of her would stir up hatred and disgust and horror but it's love that reoccurs. I still love her...and I'm still terribly devistated.

"It's..my shoulder."

_Oh dear...Bella...who did this to you?_

Her body has the ghost of bruises that appear faded to the human eye but to us are still apparent. Her story is a lie. She could never lie well. But now I'm angry. I take a deep breath and can smell Jacob as fresh as he must be able to smell me. How could he do that to her. How could he break her apart when she loves him, when she gave herself to him instead of me. With effort I'm in his mind and I'm confused. He stares at a picture of him and Bella together on the beach but instead of joy or satisfaction...his thoughts are filled with terror.

"I trust you, Carlisle."

_Oh, Bella...why did you leave us? Why did you leave our protection?_

There is a saddness in his thoughts that brings me down harder. I hadn't consider the pain my family would feel from losing her themselves. I had only thought they felt pain because of my own. I hadn't considered what she meant to them.

Her scream rips through the hospital and before I know it I'm at the door to his office.

_STOP. STOP IT EDWARD. I'M TAKING CARE OF HER. PLEASE. DON'T MAKE THIS ANY HARDER._

But then I'm in his mind. And through the door I can feel her warmth radiating into me. I close my eyes and I can feel her closeness as if I were Carlisle and I were helping her and holding her and preventing her from passing out from the pain. I have to touch her.

"No.."

Carlisle's voice, so desperate, catches my attention and I stop. I'm aware now. He's right. How could I be so selfish. In his reunion, rightfully his own, with the daughter he lost I am selfishly claiming his attention. I'm ruining the moment, however horrific, that should be spent with a smile and catching up and joy and laughter and promises for the future. Alice was right. This was not a good day to come out of my hole. This was not a good day to do anything but mock slumber.

"It's Black."

It's as Jane is standing behind me and using her viscious power for her entertainment. I'm writhing in pain that I'm containing in my standing position. It's Black now. My girl, my innocent girl is completely gone now. She gave him everything that should have been mine that I casted away. She didn't want to marry me. But now she's his wife.

_Edward...go..._

"You were invited."

Were we? Were we invited to that abomination? We have no knowledge of it. Something like that would have gone through the family and would have been so deep in everyone's thoughts that I could feel it from a mountainside away. Were we invited? If we were surely we would have prevented that horrible mistake. Evidently a mistake under the circumstances that her body as returned to us in. Surely a mistake.

"How's Esme?"

No. The picture that comes up of Esme is destructive. Sitting at the windowsill and clutching her chest as she cries tears that never come. Her hair a mess, her face distorted. How have I never seen this side of her?

_She...She misses you Edward._

Esme. Clutching her chest as if to keep the broken pieces of her heart from spilling on the floor. I'm reminded of what she did when she lost her child. I'm reminded of how hard these things hit her.

_Don't. Edward. Go._

They walk to the door and for a second I think NO. No I will stay here and take her from the life that she thought would make her happy. I'm determined to save her. But she made her decision. And I said I would be alright with it. Bella has made her bed. She didn't even ask for me. She doesn't love me anymore.

I walk away at a human pace to the bathroom again. I realize I'm still in my clown suit and my make up must me every way but normal. Why would she come here? She must have come to torture me.

"Sure thing."

Her voice. As angelic as ever calls to me and I have to look. Through the crowded hallway I can just make out her brown hair, so soft my fingers ache to tangle in the strands. I just make out her nose, always in it's perfect slope. I just make out her lips. The top one, slightly fuller than the other.

_Go._

And then I turn away. And I know I have to leave her forever.


	4. Chapter 4

**queenB mentioned that I should do a chapter in Jacob's point of view but I have to apologize and say that I'm saving that for something special in the end. This goes to Lolita as well, I'm portraying Jacob in a very complex manner here and I promise it will lead up to something important and surprising. So sorry but no Jacob pov's for just a little while. And bare with me. The next few chapters are going to be confusing and disturbing but there's a point in all of this and it will all come out. This is going to be back in Bella's point of view now.**

If he didn't love me so much I'd think he hated me. Is the smell so pungent that my nearness makes him nausous? Or is it still his guilt that makes him so distant? I'm uncertain and too afraid to ask. What if he doesn't love me anymore?

"Do you have to go out today?" I ask as place my dish on the island, slowly moving from table to kitchen. "I'm sure Sam will understand."

Jacob takes up the brunt of the cleaning. He sorts out the hardly touched dinner into left overs into containers, something he hasn't done since the very beginning, and puts the dishes into the dishwasher. His actions are quick and the medicine leaves me sick and dizzy. I press my hand against the counter and close my eyes as he answers, "I'd still have to go out and tell them that I can't stay."

The edges are my grip get fuzzy and suddenly I'm afraid of the things that come out of my mouth, "Can't you just shift out here...and send them a mental message or something?"

"No," he snips at me but I don't care. I'm hurt. He hurt me. Why doesn't he want to stay with me?

"Do you want me to take another shower? Is that it? Do you want me to sit out in the snow and wash myself with tomatoes? Would that make you love me?" I mutter this under my breath as I pass the rag over the table. I intend the words to install guilt or anger or anything other than this unfeeling Jacob that is in my presence.

"What are you trying to say?"

There it is. The edge. The sharpness. The something. I'm warm again but somehow my medicine has disturbed me and the fear I should be feeling has turned into joy. I'm getting his attention now. That's all I want, "You know what I'm trying to say. I just want...I just wa-"

His hand slams down on top of mine, stopping it's motion. He doesn't hurt my hand as much as he paralyzes it. I'm trapped again in his claws and he hisses in my ear, "What? What do you want, Bella? What do you want that I can't give you?"

"Your attention," I don't inch away from him like I normally would. Some how the medication that waves away pain has done the same to my weakness. Slowly I turn my face toward his-not yet meeting his eyes, no I haven't gotten that brave-and I continue in the same tone, "I just want you to _be_ with me, Jacob. I just want you to be here with me."

"**I. CAN'T. DO. THAT."**

"WHY? Jacob? Can you explain that to me? Why can't you do that? I'm your **WIFE**," I emphasis my last word as I snatch my hand from his shaking trap. I continue to move the rag in rough circles on the table, "You think you'd want to stay here. Take care of me. You'd think you would want to make sure I didn't get hurt."

"Are you threatening me, Bella?"

"No," I turn my head to look at him and he has the same dark look as he had before. Where does my Jacob go when this man comes out to play? Tears fall from the corners of my eyes as I slowly start to feel panic, "I miss you. Okay? I just want your _company. _I'll take another shower. We don't have enough money and it was your idea. You know Carlisle didn't ch-"

"DON'T SAY THAT NAME!" he's shaking again but I can't understand why. Doesn't he love me anymore? I start to cry real tears this time because I'm afraid the answer is no.

"WHY? WHAT'S WRONG WITH CARLISLE! IT'S NOT THE SAME! HE ISN'T EDWAR-"

The blow comes to my face before I can prepare for it. I'm on the ground, on top of my shoulder, and although I took more than the recommended amount the pain still hits me like a silver volvo. Can't anyone here my screams? Can't anyone hear my cries? Doesn't anyone know what he's doing to me?

All I can manage is a weak whimper, "What did I do to you? What did I do wrong?"

"**Don't. Say that name in this house. In ****my**** house. Don't you **_**ever**___**say that name,"** his voice terrifies me and I can do nothing but comply. The voice isn't his own. The voice is an abnormality. The voice is dangerous to my well-being. The voice doesn't belong to the man I married.

"F-Fine, fine. You win," I whisper with my eye swollen closed. I wish for icey hands to cool the burning that is left on my face. I ache for something that can stop this, "You win, Jacob."

"I'm leaving," he begins to walk past me and up-side-down I catch the glimpse of tears soaking his face. I know I can't stay here. I need someone to help me. I can't be here when he returns.

"Okay," I whisper as I shut my eyes tight and wait for the door to close. I have to leave. I need someone that can help me, "Okay."


	5. Chapter 5

Inside the rabbit I wish I had gotten the heater fixed when Jacob had suggested. But at the time I had no suspicion that I would ever go anywhere without him. Out side of Paul and Rachel's house I consider if this is the right thing. I consider if I really want to know what has been said about me and why Jacob is acting as he does. I go to Paul and Rachel because surely they would know. Rachel as his sister would be able to tell and Paul as his pack member but not best friend would know without having the fear to tell. I have to know.

I jump down from the truck and land on the nice cushy snow mound that helps slow my decent but doesn't stop the sizzle of pain hit my shoulder. Although I've been taking more than the doctor recommended dose I still feel everything, including the hurt inside of my heart. Before I even knock on the door Paul is there, standing like a mountain over me. He smiles and envelopes me with in wolfie heat and desperate surprise. Shouldn't he be at the meeting?

"Hey Bella! What took you so long to get in here?" I don't answer. I'm too shocked to do anything but stand and stare at his neck, "Come on, Rach just made some cookies."

Paul is happier than I've ever seen him. It must be because of the pregnancy. It all makes sense. The pregnancy. He's exempt from having to join the night watches. This has nothing to do with why I'm here.

"H-Hey Paul," I say softly, my head low so he can't see the bruise forming on my cheek as I finally walk in past him.

"Is that Bella!"

I hear her voice from far away and there's a feeling of love and openness that seems to reject me. The last time I had seen Rachel she had still been unsure about living in La Push, but that was so long ago and everything must have changed. Paul answers for me, "Yeah! She finally waddled her way through the snow!"

"Well tell her to come in here!" she shouts as I walk into the kitchen, the same exact lay out as my own home. Rachel stands behind the little island with flour panting her bronze skin. She holds out a tray of cookies for me but I can still see the big bump under her apron. I feel sick seeing it and her joy. I feel uneasy. "Here, try one. Paul say's they're great but I can't trust him..Come on. Don't be afraid. Emily's recipe."

I reach in and take the cookie but it starts to break apart so my other hand quickly comes to cup it. Chocolate smears upon my hand and for some reason I think of the blood smearing across my finger from that useless little paper cut. I take a small bite of the cookie because Paul and Rachel are both looking at me with anticipation that can only be quenched by action. Flavor, so warm and so welcoming like their household, fills my mouth and I have to close my eyes to contain the beauty of it. It taste's like love and fills me with a sadness because I know if I were to make cookies they would all come out burnt.

"Aren't they good?" Paul asks and I have to look up at him and nod apethetically. His face turns into a nervous frown, "Bella...what...what happened to your face?"

Quickly I look down but Rachel's flour tainted arm comes out and lifts up my face like a feather. My eyes stay low as my face reaches the light. Rachel tilt's my face this way and that and I can feel the happiness drain from the room like the blood from their faces. Like a whisper Rachel asks, "Did Jacob do this to you?"

"It was my fault," I say in the same tone, "I wanted him to stay...I didn't want him to go to the pack meeting...He's been going to every single one, every single night, and I just wanted him to miss one...And...I was insistant and mean and I should know the meetings are important."

I watch Paul's body change under his clothes. Every muscle is tense and there's the ghost of a tremble in his fingers that are angry fists at his sides. But in a gentle voice he says my name, causing me to look into his despaired face, "Bella...there hasn't been a meeting in two months."

She's pregnant, I think. And the thought saves me from lashing out like the wild animal I am transforming into. Angry tears spill into my eyes and I stand from the stool I had taken with the cookie. My chest clenches like a punch and I feel as though I've been eviserated and filled with paint thinner or gasoline.

"Bella. Stay here, we'll figure everything out. Paul's going to go find him now," Rachel sounds like my mother but I ignore her tone. I can't stay here. It's too hot for me and without any blood for it to pump through the medicine has stopped working.

"No. Don't. He's going to take it out on me when he comes home," my words don't sound like my words. They sound like his, "I have to leave."

They tell me to stay but I can't. I walk out the door and go back to the truck. This was what I was waiting for, wasn't it? Isn't this the kind of thing I was expecting. All I can think of is me sending him away with kisses and hugs and not questioning when he came at odd hours in the night. All I can think of his insane jealousy for a man that doesn't exist anymore. All I can think is how did I let it get this far?

My fingers shake as I grip the steering wheel and drive right out of La Push. I pray that the snowy streets make the wheels give out and I go diving into a tree or I flip over or I just die from the feeling of my heart shouldn't be able to feel this. There should be a breaking point in which someone else steps in and takes over this kind of pain. I should have a tag team partner that can bare this weight. I just can't take it. I just can't.

I see the lights of a gas station and I pull over just as I draw blood from the bottom lip I've been biting. Where does he go? Who does he go with? These are questions I can't ask and I can't answer. These are questions that kill me. Inside there's an old phone banke and I grab a quarter and slip it in. A list flies by of all the people I could possible call. Charlie. Renee. Billy. Quil. Emily. Embry. Sam. Alice. Rosalie. Emmett. Jasper. Esme. Edward...Carlisle. Him. Surely he can find a way to relieve some of the pain inside my heart. Surely he can find a way to heal me.

My fingers, numb from the cold, dial the numbers automatically as if they've been practicing in my sleep. I've been waiting for the day I can call without feeling an ounce of guilt. But look. I've got it and instead I wish I had never heard the name "Cullen." If it weren't for _them _he would love me. If it weren't for _him_ I would have my happy-ever-after. But it's alright. I have what I have now. And Carlisle can help save me.

The other end picks up and I hear a breath taken. But there is no answer.

"Carlisle..." my voice is trembling and I realize now that I'm crying. I should have been expecinted this. There is no answer on the other end and I become frantic. Desperately I shout, "Carlisle! Carlisle I _need_ you! Oh God...Carlisle I can't...I think...I think Jacob's cheating on me and I need someone to talk to. I need you, Carlisle. I need you. Can we talk? Please? I don't know who else to go to. I don't...I don't have anyone else...please? Can I please come over? Can you please help me?"

Sobs escape my throat. I trusted him. I trusted him with my love and my body and he convinced me he would never let this happen again. He convinced me he would always make me feel wanted and loved. He convinced me he would never do what Edward did. I believed him. I believed I could never hurt him like Edward hurt me. I believed I could grow to love him as he loved me because I was terrified of feeling that again and I knew he was the only one that could save me. I believed I could trust Jacob like I couldn't trust Edward. I believed him. I trusted him. I loved him. And that was nothing.

"Carlisle...?" I ask in the smallest voice I could muster.

"Yes."

The answer is almost breathless. But it's an answer and I accept it. I pull myself together and wipe the frozen tears off of my face. "Okay. Okay. I'm coming now. I'm coming right now. Wait for me. Please wait for me. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Carlisle...thank you."

"Just come."

I hang up the phone and jump back into my truck, feeling as though a weight has been lifted. Much like with the sling. Carlisle can help me. He can do anything.


	6. Chapter 6

**Before I begin I would just like to say: please stay with me. It will get better. I know there is a love scene but I made sure not to make it smut like...Unless you want some detail. I would be happy to go back and fix it. And please. I know about my pairing and my pairing will continue. Everything will all make sense VERY SOON. Just trust me. I'll fix everything.**

**Edward's POV**

"Carlisle...thank you," she says.

But all I can manage to breathe out is, "Just come."

The call ends but I still cling onto the riecever so tight it just might break apart. She's coming. Bella is coming. Alice must see this. Surely this would be able to jump through her road block, what ever this is. Some part of me feels guilt for lying but I know if I had admitted it was me she would not come. And I need her to come. I need her to be here with me. At least once.

The first thing I do is turn on the heat in the Cullen home. If not the visions this will surely let the others know about her arrival. The second thing I do is change my clothing but as soon as I do I change back, knowing that I can't try to hard. I have to give off the image that I'm surviving and that her existance no longer gives me so much hope in pleasure. I don't think this lie will be succesful. The third thing I do is sit on the steps and wait for her arrival. The only thing I'm good at.

The reply the conversation in my mind. Jacob. I want to murer him. I want to destroy him. I want to rip him limb from limb so that he can never walk again. I want him dead. How he could hurt her, how he could make her cry in that way is unacceptable. How he can find anyone better than her is unthinkable.

I hear her rusty wagon of bolts arrive long before it actually does. Some part of me prays that Carlisle will arrive but I know he wont be home for a long while. Alice and Jasper have decided to take a trip, a vacation from me, to help her clear her mind. It has become too much for her to take the constant confusion and bombardment of blurry images. There was something amiss and maybe it had to do with Bella and her arrival into my life. Or maybe it had nothing to do with her. Maybe it had to do with Jacob.

"Carlisle?"

I hold my breath as she slowly opens the door. I can see the snow intertwined with each lock of her hair and I can see the redness of her nose and face. There's a soft smile on the corner of her lips because she knows the heat is on just for her, it doesn't make a difference to us. She pulls open her jacket and I step from the shadows to welcome her.

She doesn't move. She is as frozen as the liquid particles falling gracefully to the floor and I am a frozen statued beast. I take this time to take her in taking in me. There is a bruise forming on her face and her bottom lip is slightly bloodied. I think of death. But slowly I breathe in her overwhelming and intoxicating scent as I listen to the sound of her heart beating faster and faster.. How I have gone this long without it is beyond me. It's the smell of happiness and beauty and reality and dreams. It's the smell of my future just beyond my grasp.

Her mouth opens and she lets my name out of her mouth, "Edward."

My eyes close and I have to look away. It's as if I'm safely on the moon watching the beauty of the sun collapsing in on itself. It's too much to observe all at once. I keep my eyes closed as I answer, "Carlise isn't here. I'm afraid I answered your phone call. I know you were expecting some advice but I needed to see you, Bella. I needed to see you at least once."

"Edward."

I can't control myself. My eyes peak open and the blue brown thing calls for my attention. The warmth eminating from her frame draws me in and I'm helpless to defend against it. My arms wrap around her and I pull her into me, finally feeling myself melt into my better half. My hand gently lifts up and I press my palm against her cheek, instantly soothing the wound. I hear her take in a deep breath but she doesn't push me away. Her blood rushes past my fingertips and I press her face close to mine so I can breathe it in. So I can feel it against my cheek and my chin, the rushing of the sweet liquid flavor.

"I think Jacob's cheating on me."

Her words are fooling and my mouth touches at hers slowly, teasing, but not kiss and only to remember. I taste her blood so easily and I feel the venom fill my mouth and the burning fill my throat but it's familiar. It's welcomed. Her arms wrap around my neck and she presses herself up against me and her legs wrap around my waist. Whether this is love or muscle memory I don't quite know yet. But against her lips I whisper, "Why would he do such a thing?"

"He hasn't imprinted on me."

"That doesn't matter."

And then our speech is cut off. There's no speaking left or necessary because our bodies do the talking. We spin around each other-up the stairs, against the banister, on the bed I've been relunctant to give away-our clothing falls every way but on our bodies and I touch her and kiss her with the gentle tenderness that has been lacking in her own love affair. I do the things I made her wait to do. I wanted to wait for marraige and I did. It just wasn't my own.

Her fingers are little flames that engrave her personality into my stone. She kisses me over my broken heart and fills my empty chest with her own beating one. We move in the ways I had been too afraid. But I've dreamt of this day that she would be mine again. I know how to move without breaking her. I know how to live in the pleasure for the amount of forver that is now just mine. How anyone could give this away I will never understand.

When we finish her breathing has slowed and my heart is empty and frozen again. Her heart still races as it had when she first walked through the door but her breathing is slow and calm. My arm drapes over her stomach, keeping her against me because I have no real intention of letting go. I leave butterfly kisses on her shoulder and on her skin but she has no real reaction to it. Her eyes are only on the cieling above us.

I hear her take in a deep breath and I lean in, wanting to tumble inside of her lungs and live in her body forever. I ask softly because I feel it is my right to know again, "Bella...what are you thinking about?"

"I think..." she pauses her sentence and blinks before looking to me, "I think Jacob's cheating on me."


	7. Chapter 7

**This is back in Bella's POV.**

My mind is a numb blank but my body is thriving and alive. The only time I have ever been this disconnected with myself was during the newborn invasion in the tent with Jacob and Edward. I let the water in the shower run over me but it does nothing to calm my nerves. Jacob must be back home by now and surely he is going insane. I'll have to face the raging wild man on my own, Edward wont be there to protect me.

As if on que Edward enters the shower but he doesn't step into the shower. I'm almost certain he knows that I don't love him anymore, not the way I used to. I'm a married woman now. This was a mistake, a weakness of the flesh. A weakness I ache to relive again and again but a weakness nonetheless. I have to leave. I can't be subject to his perfect and his still undying love for me. I can't look into his golden eyes and see the hope still burning fresh while my hope has simmered away. There's nothing left for me in the Cullen home. I'm a stupid woman. The things I've done to this family. I deserve the beating I will get.

"I...I'll follow you," his voice is as soothing as ever. My heart still races in response and my body wants to jump into his arms but that is all. My soul doesn't much agree with everything my other parts want to do.

"No," I whisper softly between the water drops. The last thing I need is a war on my account. We don't want one but it will come and the way everyone will look at me. If Jacob knew. I scrub myself harder, wanting to get Edward's smell from the places that matter.

"I mean...I'll follow _him_," I don't like the tone Edward uses when reffering to my Jacob. My Jacob is still in there although he is hidden by the wild man. It reminds me when I had my unending love for Edward and the things Jacob would say about him. It unnerved me. Edward doesn't mean it in the same way though. Or maybe he does.

"Do you want to get killed, Edward?" I ask, almost in disbelief. I know how I sound. Like an abused woman thinking her husband is unbeatable. But this is different. Jacob is unbeatable.

"So I can listen," the more we talk the more defeated he sounds. I wish I had never come. I wish I had never given in. I don't want to listen to his despair anymore.

"Maybe," is all I can manage to let out. He leaves the bathroom at that word. Maybe is all I have for him.

He helps me to dry and to dress but with a hopeless air about him. He does it out of kindness and for memories that he can distort in the thousands of years to come. As I look at his beauty I understand at some point, if I had choosen him, we would spend those thousands of years in still satisfaction. He would happy...but we would still be empty. There's no need for emotions with a vampire unless it involves another human. Maybe that's why they choose to relive their high school careers. So they can feel alive again.

At the door he helps my arm into the sling he had thrown away but for some reason I feel as though I don't need it. He helps me into my jacket and he ties the scarf around my neck tightly. He rests his hand on my good shoulder and looks into my eyes, burning, hoping, searching, but all I see is the gold that remains untouchable. I love him. But I love my Jacob more.

It's as if he read my thoughts. How cruel it would be for him to finally crack the puzzle and the first secret is the love I don't share for him. His face falls into a grimance as he leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead as he did just before he left me in the woods. Fitting. So very fitting.

He pulls back and says, "I'll listen to him. As soon as I get the chance."

I nod my head, "Thank you, Edward."

He looks down at the floor as he opens the door for me, "You're welcome, Bella."

The way he says my name makes my knees go weak yet again. I think of my dream from so long ago. If I change my mind, I know he'll be waiting for me. He opens the door and I walk back into the snow drenched world that is my own. Out of the arms of heat and into the fists of cold. Fitting. So very so.

In the rabbit I imagine how my arrival will be at home. He'll grab me because he can smell the vampire. Yes I was with the Cullens, I'll say, because you're cheating on me Jacob. My stomach twists at the thought. Maybe Paul got to him first. You're cheating on me, Jake, there hasn't been any meetings for two months. Where have you been? Where have you been?

I pull into La Push and twist and turn til I find my little home. The lights are all on. This is it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Jacob's POV**

Bella sits in the picture next to me wearing the bikini I finally talked her into wearing. She's shy and wears something around her waist although she knows my favorite part of her is her backside. Quil had taken the picture while Emily sat with Claire, the only time he had taken his eyes off of her. It looks like we're not touching but between us is a little hill of sand where our fingers are connected. Her cheeks are slightly red because I whispered before that Embry still thinks she's hot. Embry's not in the picture but he's there. He's next to Quil, making fun of the way he holds the camera and telling him he's not a photographer. Sometimes I wish I had taken a picture too. Sometimes I wish camera's could take pictures of everything at once. I wish they could capture me and Bella, Emily and Claire, Quil and Embry, Sam coming up from the water, Rachel and Paul walking along the beach. I wish they could get everything about a moment. Sometimes just one picture isn't enough.

In the darkness of the house I look at the picture and think: she's not here and neither is he. The Alpha.

I slowly walk through the house and look at the pictures we decided to hang on the walls. I know where she went. To the Cullens. Anger flows through my veins but I know it's mine. It's not his yet. If it weren't for them this wouldn't be happening. I wouldn't be doing this to the only woman I will ever love. But I can't blame her. I have driven her into their arms just as they had driven her into mine. But I can't let them get away clean. There's no changing the fact that if it weren't for them I wouldn't be what I am. If it weren't for them I wouldn't have this lineage crushing me alive.

The sound of the rabbit pulling up catches my attention and already my sight begins to go black. I crush my fists together to calm myself but it's no use. He always wins when he wants to. The rabbit sounds so old. We could fix it together, me and Bella, but the Alpha gets in the way. He gets in the way of every-

**The **_**SMELL**_** fills my nostrils and it almost brings me to my knees. I feel like dropping down and vomiting, vomitings my disgust for her and those creatures-those things. I want to rip them apart. I want to rip **_**her**_** a -fucking-par-**

With a gasp I break through, the picture in my palm is crushed but all I can focus on is trying to breathe and trying not to overreact. I hold my nose and squeeze my eyes shut and try to hold myself together for Bella's sake. I think of all the things I love about her so I can be strong for this battle. I think of how I love the way she holds my hand while we're sleeping. I love the way she will wake from a nightmare but turn to look at me and go right back to sleep. I love the way she wakes me in the morning with a soft and fearful kiss on my shoulder and on my cheek as if she really doesn't want to wake me up at all. I love the way she runs her hands through my hair anytime she can reach. I love the touch of her cool skin and how she doesn't turn on the heat when I'm around or try to get the heater in the rabbit fixed. I love how she assumes I'm going to be there to warm her up no matter what. I love how she loves me.

"Jacob?" her voice is frightened and my heart feels like it's going to break. He's made her afraid of me. He's pushing her away.

"I'm in here," I shouldn't have said anything.

**The taste fills my mouth like their floating in the fucking air. Those **_**things **_**invade my girl's heart and then they invade her brain and now they invade my fucking home. They're everywhere and one by one I have to crush them and rip them and burn them until the whole world is fucking eradicated and there is not one of those vermin walking the Earth. And I have to start with the biggest vampire magnet I know. I have to start with he-**

"Jacob," her face is wet with tears and she looks into my eyes with such heartbreak and despair, "Two months."

**WHO TOLD HER? WHO SAID IT? WHO? I'LL FUCKING KILL THEM! I grab her shoulders and yank her to me and shake her for information, "WHO TOLD YOU?"**

"Where have you been!"

**"You reak! You reak like those monsters! Where have I been? What about you? Huh! You were with them! Is that what you're going to do now when ever you have a bad day? Huh? You think they can save you from me! No one can save you from me! They can't protect you!"**

"LET GO OF ME!"

My hands fall away and she slips to the floor again, her new home. She skirts away and finds that corner in the kitchen that has become her only safe haven. I have to get away. My heart is beating so fast and I'm starting to get afraid because I _can_ smell them too. I can smell them _every_where and I'm so afraid because what if I can't stop him. What if I want to know. I squeeze my fists tighter and hold my face in my hands. I can smell them all over.

"Where were you?" she asks through gritted teeth.

"Bella..." I can't look at her because I feel the Alpha pumping through my veins and my head is swimming. Tears explode from my eyes because it starts to make sense what the Alpha whispers to my blood. It starts to make sense, "What did you do?"

"WHO IS SHE?" she's on her feet now and she picks up a frying pan, "WHO ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME WITH JACOB? WHO IS IT! I WANT TO KNOW!"

**In one big stride I grab her wrist and bend it so far back the pan falls to the floor. Before it can make a noise I grab her to me and smell her neck. It's repulsive. I can smell the kisses on her lips and on her face and she tries to squirm away but I'm calculating now and the more I do the more I feel so fucking furious. I grab her face in my hands and hold it tight, so tight I know there will be marks in the morning but I don't care. I want to crush her jaw. As my mind works I realize I must expunge this scent from her skin and so my mouth fights with hers to overcome the scent but the more we fight the more I smell that it's everywhere. Where ever my tongue and my mouth go there is a new scent that springs up and has to be washed away and the more I rub away the aspects on her face the more I realize it's everywhere. IT'S EVERYWHERE.**

"Stop it! Stop it Jacob!"

**How dare she. How DARE she yell at me. I'm disgusted to the point I can't stand to touch her anymore. So I push her across the room and watch as she slides to a stop against the sofa. It takes seconds for me to morph and I'm in my wolf form now, knocking over chairs and the table and everything in my way. My woman. My woman. I press my nose to the ground and pick up the memories in the smell that she tried to wash away. She can't hide from me. She can't hide anything. She screams and tries to get away but she can't. Who does she think she is? Who does she think she can fool?**

**I corner her against the back of the sofa and with my teeth I rip away her clothes, drawing blood in some places that don't matter because she's dead to me and she'll be dead to everyone else too. I don't know what it is that prevents me from taking action rapidly. It's like a car accident. The more I smell the more the other guy relinquishes control to the anger. There's something about the unity that brings me a disasterous kind of joy. My nose drags up her legs and skin that flinch under the touch of it. It's as if I'm there watching him touch her in the ways that I should only be allowed to. Up her thighs to her sweet wet spot that floods with juices that only I should taste I go. I'm disgusted by the scent of HIM that has invaded the womb that I MARKED AS MINE. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE? I breathe in deeply and can smell her body impregnanted with the sperm she tried so hardly to remove in that shower. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE? **

**My nose goes up to her stomach and to her breast and to her neck again where he could have so easily bitten. I SCREAM OUT MY GROWLS BUT THE OTHER GUY PREVENTS ME FROM ATTACKING. She's screaming and trying to get away and some how she is flipped onto her stomach. She's clawing at the floor but I press my nose to her back and press her against the floor. My anger leaps out of my throat in the form of a growl. Everywhere. He was everywhere. And I realize if the other guy wont let me get rid of this dog then I must teach this dog a lesson.**

"GOD! SOMEONE HELP ME! SOMEONE PLE-"

**I'm back into my human form and in that second she has leaped onto her feet. But in one swipe I grab her mouth from behind and press her to my body. The wolf wishes to do the deed I need to commit but this is a MAN'S job and it's mine to complete. With her legs kicking I walk over her clothes that are rags on the ground. She tries to escape continually, scratching and kicking at skin that feels no pain but it's no use. My hand presses hard against her mouth but she screams beyond it inside her throat although I scrape her lips against her teeth. I press her against the back of the sofa with my body but she tries to get away, not knowing when to give up. I strike her from behind and she relaxes and slumps forward. I spread her limp legs apart and thrust into her with my dominance that sends her screaming from her unconcious state. She's up and clawing away but her lower half is mine and like a bear trap I don't let her go. I keep thrusting in painful strides, finding a sick and satisfying enjoyment from her pleas to unhearing protectors. What can they do to me? How can they stop me? It's almost too good. It's almost too much. It's so delicious cli-**

"O-Oh God...Oh...God!" I can't! I'm climaxing as she shrieks in pain and while the Alpha is weak from satisfaction I'm left in control to witness my actions. I can't. I...What have I become? I jump away from Bella and she crumbles to the floor, blood running down her legs. Her body is ruined. Her body...the temple I used to gladly worship. Oh Bella...I...I can't.

I turn around and run from Bella and the Alpha, I try to escape them both. I'm a monster I'm a monster and I can't. I can't. In the snow I feel a force sieze me and stop me in my tracks. It's him. He wants more. He's not done. Already the Alpha halts my legs but I scream, "HELP! SOMEONE HE-"

And I shift as the Alpha rips through me and I let out a blood curling howl that means help me. That means I'm dying. That means this is my last chance.

**I shift back into myself and saunter into my house, slamming the door behind me and shrugging off the last pieces of the weak one. I lock the door because this is my house. This is my house and no one can enter. Bella is on the floor now, dragging herself away but I grab her right ankle with laugh. With no effort I drag her to me and she screams weakly as I spin her around. Slowly, so she can see every action I lower myself onto her.**

"PLEASE! OH GOD! PLEASE STOP! PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

**My eyes are narrowed and focused as with no mercy I TAKE BACK WHAT BELONGS TO ME AND I DESTROY THE TRACES OF WHAT THAT THING TURNED HER INTO. MY MANHOOD SPLITS THE TIGHTNESS OF HER WOMB AND I THRUST WITH ANGER, BECAUSE THIS WILL BE MINE. NOT THE OTHER ONES NOT THE VAMPIRES THIS IS MY TIME FOR PLEASURE. BELLA'S SCREAMS ARE ENCHANTING AND I GLADLY PIN HER ARMS BACKWARDS OVER HER HEAD AND WATCH HER BODY SHAKE AND REACT UNWILLINGLY TO THE JOY I SQUEEZE OUT OF HER. I MAKE HER WATCH AS I MARK MY PROPERTY AND I BITE HER BODY TO SHOW HER AND THE WORLD ON HER FLESH AND HER BONES THAT BELLA BLACK BELONGS TO ME, THE TRUE ALPHA OF THE QUILEUTE TRIBE AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME. NOT EVEN MYSELF.**

**There is banging at the door but it doesn't stop me. I take my time to finish and when I do I let out a loud howl as I continue to push in and out, emptying myself of this batch of my children. They are confused, "my pack," they don't know what they are listening to. When I am done I grab her face, no longer resistant, and hiss into it, "Let's see what your vampire can do now."**

**I pull myself out of her and stand to my feet. A glory that can only come from dominance fills me and showers over me as I step back from her and enjoy what I have done. The door flies open and in that time I turn around to face my oppresors. My "pack." They take in the scene and I shift into a wolf before their eyes and howl the howl that informs them they can never stop me. No one can stop me now.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I know the last chapter was very disturbing but I promise I will clear up everything that is happening with Jacob. This is in Bella's pov.**

"Bella, you have to eat something." "Come on. Listen to her. It's very good, I tried it myself." "Do you want us to call Charlie?" "We can't call him." "We'll talk about it later." "Bella, are you cold? Do you want us to call Seth in again?" "Bella...say something. Please?" "How are you feeling? You don't have a fever?" "We're looking for him now. It's going to be alright." "Do you mind if I watch tv?" "It's a circus out there." "You should have told us sooner, Bella. We could have helped you and him." "That's not my baby brother. I don't believe it." "Are you thirsty?" "He would never hurt you. He would never dream of it." "You're going to be okay, Bella. You're going to be fine."

It's funny how they come in one or two at a time but never in a big group. It's funny how they keep asking me questions when they know I wont answer. It's funny how vampires and werevolves combine for my comfort when that's the last thing all this attention does, make me comfortable. I'm wrapped up in blankets and sweaters and sweats and clothes that cover but don't touch my skin. I'm warm but there's a chill that will never go away. I've seen darkness. Darkness has filled me.

Carlisle stares at me in Sam and Emily's room. They decided to move me there because it was big enough to hold the circus with windows wide enough to let in and out the stink of everyone else. I wonder what he thinks of me and the actions I've commited to his son. Surely after his exam he must know. I wonder if he thinks I deserve this, something Rosalie most defintely does, or if he feels sorry that he stopped me earlier today. I wonder what he thinks but I don't care enough to ask.

The door opens but this time I hear Esme's voice, soft and yet hinted with authority-I can tell she is the one calling the shots here. She says, "Excuse me, Carlisle, Alice is here."

"Right. I'll be out." He leaves the room without a goodbye. The door closes and I know Alice has entered the room without my having to hear her, no one could hear her.

I feel the bed that I lay on move shift slightly under her weight and I am filled with a calm clear mindedness. Jasper must be in the room too. In this clearness I start to understand what happened. Jacob is in trouble. Jacob needs help. Jacob needs all the attention, not me, he's the real victim here. But I can't tell anyone that. My voice has been scared away from me. There's no room for me to speak.

From the corner of my eye I can see Alice's small hand reach out from around me. Her tiny fingers find my face and slowly, as if I'm a new born child, she runs them across it. The cool chill counteracts the iceback attatched to the back of my head but there's something more to it. It's Alice, my best friend, here and she has yet to speak to me. Surely she must know what I have done to her brother...but still she is here to help me. And it is now that I start to cry.

I don't have to move. Alice lifts me into her arms and cradles me against her chest as I start to really weep. Against her chest I curl in on myself and feel as though I will implode but Jasper takes the edge off although not wiping away the saddness completely. It's my fault what I did. I shouldn't have cheated on him with Edward. I shouldn't have done that.

_"Bella..."_

Alice's voice is the sweetest kind of whisper that can ever be spoken. Her fingers are specific and accurate as they catch each tear before they fall. She looks at me with a broken curiosity. I bet she's trying to understand who's anguish is greater, Edward's or mine. For some reason...I can't decide that one just yet either.

_"Bella...I envy you so much. You feel pain and you can express it...I feel saddness and I have to contain it...do you know how badly I wish for tears? Oh Bella...Bella I missed you so much, sister. I missed you so much. I kept looking for you and looking for you but all I saw was darkness...Why didn't you visit me, Bella? You could visit me too...You know we were friends long before your relationship with these silly boys...we could still be friends."_

Her words. I want to answer them but the soft and subtlty she executes them with combined with the numbing joy Jasper exudes sends me into a sleep I've been craving. Slowly, as if I could touch the particles in the air, I drift on and on. But Alice doesn't move, Alice doesn't move a muscle.

In my sleep...

In my sleep I see Jacob alone but I hear him tell me something about his past. He holds his head in his hands and he is untouchable but still...there are whispers that are only just heard. He's crying quiet tears but the voices get louder and they tell me things about his past. They tell me about Ephraim. They tell me about the true leader of the pack. They tell me it isn't Sam.

When I awake...

When I awake Alice isn't in the room. The sun is peaking in through the open window and I think of my Jacob and it must be a good sign. I hear the creek of a floor board and slowly, feeling better and safe, I turn around to face the door. But it isn't the friends I was expecting.

Standing behind me...

is Jacob.


	10. Chapter 10

**Edward's Pov**

Pain.

I will never feel another ounce of it.

The detachment of Bella from my soul leaves an emptiness that will never be filled. Not with blood. Not with body. Not with bones. The warmth of her skin fades slowly with every mile she runs away from me and it is then that I begin to understand her choice. I want to destroy Bella. I want to swallow her whole and allow her to reside only within my mind. I want to possess her and control her and hold her. I want the kind of possession that only comes with vampiric isolation.

And I understand now that she'd rather be beaten than to be owned.

I sit on the steps and wait for Carlisle to return home. I leave the heat on so that they understand before they can smell that her presense was here. I don't eliminate the evidence of our encounter. I want them to know. I want them to know what I instigated and what she completed. I want them to know how weak I was. I want them to know that I will never love again.

But still. We wont hate her.

How can you hate something so fragile? Poor Bella...she couldn't stand to be hated. Her body would crumble under a vampire's hate just like it almost had before. We've promised to love her forever. And forever we will.

The door opens and I look up expecting to see Carlisle but instead Alice tackles me into the stair case. Loud yelps and cries escape her throat and I only bairly make out what she is saying, "Something horrible is happening! Something horrible is going to happen! Oh God! Edward! It's so bad!"

I rub her back gently and hold her against my chest, "It...It's already happened."

"It's worse! He's going to kill her! Oh Edward! I can't! It hurts so much!" the anguish on her features is uncompairable. Nothing the Volturi can do can match what she exibits on her features.

Panic seizes me and I look up for help, "Jasper! Do something!"

"I'M TRYING." he says through gritted teeth, but his mind is a blank as well as hers. The effort isn't concetrated, their still trying to protect me.

"To hell with me Jasper! To hell with me! Just let down your guard and help her! Just do it!" I shout.

But Alice cries, "No!"

But it's too late. Jasper falls to his knees as the veil is uncovered and Alice is lulled into a numbing state so strong it can pass for sleep. And for me. There is despair. Jasper's mind is a labyrinth of late night confessions in which Alice has revealed her first vision of Bella. It is the letter she wrote, sealed to break my heart. Following is the hospital and the moments of this night and Alice's hypothesis that our lives are so interconnected with Bella and the wolves that she can make no future of it. Not even when she tries to detach herself from us. Not even from one second. But worst of all is the vision she has had last.

I see this myself in Alice's calm mind. Darkness encases the vision but at the center is Bella unmistakably laying in a broken puddle of flesh and blood. Her eyes are casted away into death and her body is ripped open by a beast, by an animal. Her heart beats slower and slower until she blinks and upon opening her brown eyes are dead. She is dead. Bella will die.

"No...It...we wont...we wont let it..." Alice mumbles. Jasper holds her close to his chest appearing the most vulnerable and desperate in the room, something I have never seen of him.

I look up and it is then that I realize that my family is complete for the first time. Esme hides her face in Carlisle's chest and Rosalie bites her lip to hold back words while Emmett grips her to his chest with a clenched jaw. Esme's thoughts are a wordless blur of pain. Rosalie's thought echo the same phrase _Why didn't they listen to me? Why didn't they just listen? _Emmett repeats _It isn't right. Not for anyone. This isn't right. _And Carlisle looks into my eyes and asks _Son...what happened?_

"Bella was here," I answer Carlisle first. They look to me with confusion-Rosalie with hate, Esme with hope, Emmett with fear-and I continue, "She wanted to see Carlisle. But I was here to meet her. She said she thought Jacob was cheating on her."

"What did you do, Edward?" Carlisle asks, understanding dawning on him.

"We made love..." I sigh, looking down and away, "I know. I'm sorry...I...I couldn't stop myself."

_Nice! Fina-...Damn it...I'm sorry..._Poor Emmett. It's painful to see what a desperate situation does to an optimist.

"She left close to twenty minutes ago," I'm finished. That's the end of the explanation.

"That...That's it..." Alice whispers.

"What? Jasper, if you will?" Carlisle asks and Jasper nods. As the actions unfold Esme turns to Jasper and wraps her arms around his neck gingerly. She holds him to her chest as he holds Alice to his.

Alice blinks and focuses her attention on me, "She...She's going back to Jacob...he...he's going to hurt her. We...we have to stop this..."

"We'll get slaughtered," Emmett says in a soft voice, not trying to be mean.

But in a harsh voice Rosalie snaps, "She made her bed. Let her die in it."

"Rosalie! She's still a member of this family!" Esme's voice is frightening but she lowers her face back into Jasper's hair.

"No! She's a disgusting human! Pathetic! Family doesn't do what she did to us, Esme! Family doesn't act that way!" she screams. Emmett's arms never leave her but it is evident she has spoken so much about this he believes her, he relents.

"Rosie..." Alice whispers, looking into Rosalie's eyes, "If you had the choice...what would you do?"

Rosalie's eyes glaze over and I think about the conversation she had with Bella about her life. She knows she wants to die. As happy as she is now. Rosalie is more envious that Bella actually go away. But she wont admit that. Rose's eyes jump to me, her face still twisted in anger, "It's not fair what she did to you Edward, no matter what, it's NOT fair!"

I look down at the ground she had once treaded on, "It's my fault, Rosalie...I left her with him...and I promised I would be accept anything she chose. We have to accept...I have to accept that this is my fault."

"She's still apart of this family," Alice repeats Esme's words. She looks up at me, "We have to protect her."

I nod my head and open my mouth to speak but the sound of Carlisle's phone going off splits the air. A tension builds around us, between us, inside us-is this conversation too late? Everyone's mind is hush as he picks up the phone from his pocket. He answers the phone and whispers, "Hello?"

Nobody comments on the smell. Everyone is too busy trying to figure out how to cope with a houseful of vampires and werewolves and the disfigured woman in the bedroom laying down. I thought I could never feel pain again. I was wrong. The way her face has caved in on its self from her depression, the way the bruises sink in her cheeks and her skull, the way her movements reflect where and when she was hurt. I can't understand...I can't believe that my Bella has been through this.

Emily and Rachel and Kim are in the room with her now which allows us to get to business that might upset them. We are all scattered through out the room in silence, expect for Seth who speaks to one of us every so often to catch up and Paul who talks to Carlisle about what he should be expect with the birth. The oddity of it is how Seth speaks so intimitely with Emmett and Rosalie as if he knows them so well and the thoughts that leave Rosalie's mind. In her mind she invisions Seth as a child that needs protecting as a child that her and Emmett could shape into a fine young gentleman with an eye for fashion, much like herself and her Emm. She thinks fleatingly about taking poor Seth, a child with kind potential growing with savages, into a completely different environment-England perhaps.

The wolves themselves talk only in whispers and I and I wonder if any of them have ever owned a shirt. Although they try to act civilazed and comfortable in their home they cast glances at us that allow us to deduce that we are not welcome, not really. Their minds echo the same three things: _He looks like shit. Those motherfuckers, they did this. Why do they have to look so pathetic?_

As the last thought is echoed Sam comes to the center and speaks, "Guys, while the girls are inside I think this is the best time to talk about what's going on. We all know, more or less, what's happened with Jake and Bella. For the past two months our pack meetings have been terminated but Jacob insists on attending some of his own, at least that's what Bella told Paul, but with no other wolves. I'm not sure if you Cullens know but Jacob has the right to be pack leader."

"Yes, Ephraim Black was the leader last we had heard," Carlisle says with a ghost of a smile and the memory of a kind man, much like Sam is now.

"Right. Since I was the first to undergo the...transformation...I became pack leader with every intention of giving over my riegns but Jacob has continually denied the position, allowing me to stay. From what we gather from those who had the displeasure of sharing his mind we have uncovered that the Alpha force inside of him is taking control. It is a force that only a true Alpha can hold, something that I have inside of me and something all Alpha's of any pack must bond with as soon as they become the leader. With much deliberation between Billy and the elders we have uncovered that because of Jacob's resistance to being Alpha the force is taking over his mind so that he can prove dominance over...everything," his mind jumps to the image of Bella laying on the floor unconscious and destroyed.

"So...like the hulk?" Emmett asks with his arms folded over his chest with Rosalie drapped beside him.

There is the slightest bit of amusment but it is quickly submerged. Uncomfotably Sam nods, "Yes."

Seth sighs, "That'd be cool if it weren't so horrible."

"Wait...so...what do we do?" Jared asks, his head swimming with the simple question _Do we kill him or not?_

"The elders are going through the legends and trying to determine that themselves. Our only solution is if we combine with the Cullens," there is a small grumble from both sides, "and track him down for capture Maybe if we can speak with Jacob we can get him to overcome the Alpha."

"With all do respect," it's Esme's little voice that has broke through the conversation. Her voice is shaken and angry, "if you look at that little girl in there you will find that Jacob is GONE. No one in their right mind could do that to her. Not to Bella."

Silence fills the room but the mind of the wolves is a strong shudder of understanding. They have memories of the looks exchanged between Bella and Jacob. They know she is right. He would never do that to her. There is some terror in their minds as well. They are afraid he is gone forever. They are afraid they will never get him back. But maybe they will.

"Earlier today Bella visited Carlisle in the hospital," I begin. Carlisle looks at me as if he isn't sure I can continue but I do. "Jacob waited for her outside and I was able to achieve a glimpse of his mind. As he waited he looked at a photograph of himself and Bella on the beach and instead of the mind of the Alpha I am certain I saw into Jacob's."

"What was he thinking?" Paul asks. In his mind is hatred for Jacob. In his mind Bella is Rachel and every woman he has ever loved. Some how...with all the horror continuing I begin to relax. These are the people that Bella has surrounded herself with. These are all good people.

"All I could make out was..." I try to think of how to phrase it, "he was terrified. He was absolutely terrified."

"There. That settles it," Carlisle says as he clasps his hands together with a smile, "We will track him down but we will not engage. We will simply allow Edward enough time to seep into his mind and find Jacob and maybe a way to communicate with him."

"What does the fortune-teller see?" It's Embry. His heart is filled with disgust for us that had once been acceptance. He blames us all for what has happened to his best friend. None of us can get away with judgement in his eyes.

"She can't see anything. Unfortunately werewolves escape her vision," Carlisle says in the softest way possible, attempting to soothe any egos that might be wounded.

"Well...what's to stop us from going after him right now?" Embry asks, looking to Sam.

"The same thing that stopped us from getting him before, Bella. She needs our help and our protection," Sam answers firmly.

The door to her room opens and out steps Emily with her baby bump. I'm suddenly jealous. So jealous for the lives that these wolves get to lead. The scars on her face and arms no longer attract my gaze, it is the beautiful thing that is allowed to grow inside of her. They are as apart of her as Bella's striking brown eyes. Just another perfect feature. Her voice is soft as she asks, "Dr. Cullen...would you mind checking on Bella? I think she's lost consiousness again."

Carlisle gives her a gentle smile and nods, "I wouldn't mind at all. Thank you for telling me."

Carlisle patiently waits for the imprinters to escort their women from the room. He understands the bond between the wolves and their women and he would never want to give the false assumption that they are in danger with him. Carlisle enters the room and now that the women are out the talk has ended. I look to Esme and see she is still boiling with anger just as Rosalie is boiling with confusion. Rosalie wants to hate Bella...but she can't dare hate her anymore.

I offer Esme my hand and she gladly accepts it. My arms fall around her shoulders and I gently rub her arms to relax them from their rigid state. I suggest, "Shall we see how Alice and Jasper are?"

She nods her head, "Okay."

We walk out the door and she says to me _I love you all so much. None of you deserve this. You don't deserve one ounce of this situation._

I lean over and kiss her head to let her know how much her love means to me. On the front porch we look through the trees to find which Jasper and Alice are perched in. Since her powers are causing such pain Alice has taken up weird hiding places to try and fix it with Jasper as her faithful companion. Before we can call out to them though they are before us and I am hit with the most recent vision. It is me standing in the meadow of the newborn attack surrounded by darkness. It's a hint.

"I want to see Bella," Alice says finally. I wonder if this is such a good idea.

"Okay," Esme smiles, happy that Alice looks better and more to herself.

We walk inside but it is like we have never left. There is still the discomfort that makes every action a thousand times more noticable. The wolves look to us as Esme, Jasper, and Alice make their way to Carlisle. They feel as though we should explain every action we commit. But we don't.

When the door has closed and Carlisle and Esme are out I speak, "Alice has had a vision of me standing at the field of the new born attack."

_"Bella."'_

Mouths are stuck open. Actions are half commited. Everyone is frozen. The voice is hypnotic and heartbreaking. Our eyes turn to the room Bella lays in and although we don't want to we listen.

_"Bella...I envy you so much. You feel pain and you can express it...I feel saddness and I have to contain it...do you know how badly I wish for tears? Oh Bella...Bella I missed you so much, sister. I missed you so much. I kept looking for you and looking for you but all I saw was darkness...Why didn't you visit me, Bella? You could visit me too...You know we were friends long before your relationship with these silly boys...we could still be friends."_

There is an anger that sprouts up inside all of us caused by the poor pixie girl and for the first time we are on the same page. We wish she never had to feel so much saddness, we wish she never said those words. We wish the vampire curse was eliminated, we wish the same for the werewolf curse as well. We wish there were no enemy lines. They wish they didn't have so much compassion for us and we wish they didn't have the thing we cherish. But most importantly we wish we all did not love Bella.

"So...it is settled. We will go to the field of the new born attack," Carlisle says carefully.

"We have to break into two groups first. Group A will leave for the attack and group B will stay to meet Jacob if he comes. Group A will be me, Paul, Jared, Embry, Quil, Leah, Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett. Group B will be Seth, Collin, Brady, Esme, Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie. Emily, Kim, and Rachel will stay in Billy's house while Esme, Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie will stay here. Seth, Collin, and Brady will each circle around the houses to inform us of Jacob's arrival and to protect the women in the houses. Does that sound acceptable to everyone?" It's hard to compete with Sam. There's a reason he is the Alpha, "We break in fifteen minutes. Jared, Paul, and I will escort the women to Billy's and then we will meet in front here."

"Seth?" Rosalie seems to stumble out of some daze and we look from her to Seth but he is just as confused as we are. "But they are so young. How are they suppose to defend the women against Jacob if he were to come?"

"Well...we highly doubt Jacob would attack the women in any way, shape, or form. There is one action that is unforgivable in our pack and that is the death of someone that has been imprinted upon. And if Jacob is so far gone you all will be suffient back up, I believe," Sam answers but the thought Jacob would attack is still frightening, "Any other questions?"

"Just one," Esme's voice is gentle but she has a look of determination that is visious, "What do we do if we find Jacob here?"

"Depending on how he advances toward Bella...," Sam goes quiet for a moment, "It's up to your discretion."


	11. Chapter 11

**Rosalie's POV**

"Don't be a hero."

"I wont. Be nice."

"I'll try."

He pulls his lips from mine enough so that I can look at him and see the seriousness but I've beaten him to it. My mouth is turned into a smile that let's him know I'm joking. It lets him know of course I'll be nice...as nice as I can be. As soon as he sees my playful expression he relaxes but I squeeze his neck with my arms to let him know that I want the weight of his strong arms around me again. He complies and his arms crush me, he knows it's the only way I can feel safe when he leaves me. My skin retains the memory of his muscles until they fit back into place.

I kiss his lips deeply with the chance that I wont stop but I have to tell him, "It's their fight. I know how you feel about Bella but she's not dead. We have her here. She's fine. You don't have to go out looking for justice. Don't go out of your way, Emm."

I have to repeat these things to him so that he understands that I am serious. The problem with my big man is that his heart is as big as his muscles. If it were up to him he would go after Jacob alone and bring him to the ground so that no one else would get hurt. But he can't live that way. I need him too much. His eyes soften as he replies, "Rose...she's apart of our family to-"

I pulls his hair so hard his head whips with it and his mouth shuts. I don't feel guilty because he's done it to me too. We only resort to this when the other person talks foolishly. It's his kind of talking that get people killed. I'm not gentle as I repeat, "SHE. IS. NOT. DEAD. EMMETT. She picked THEM over US. I will NOT have you die for someone that didn't even want us."

"It's not like that," he says as he shakes my hands from his hair. His hands reach up and grab onto mine now and the pain that shoots through my scalp is enough for me to listen, "I don't want THEM to get hurt either. Even if they hate us I still like them. Sure, this whole Bella thing has pulled us apart but once you get over the stink they're fun. And did you see them during the newborn attack? They are good people."

"If they're such good people why do they hate us!" I can't help but to snap. It's like he's choosing them over me! It's like he wants to die!

But suddenly his face presses against mine and I'm forced to hush. With his face so close and the gentle pressure of his arms I'm complacent. He knows how to get me to calm down. His lips move just a centimeter from mine and I'm pudding at the thought of how good his lips feel all over my body. But he's serious, "Rosalie. They're good people. Look at Seth. You like Seth don't you?"

I can't help but to nod and smile bashfully. I've told Emmett of my affection for him and how I wish we could capture him and raise him as our own. He reminds me of Emmett so much with his gentleness and strength and heart. To have two of them would be so much...fun. I helplessly nod, "Yes..."

"Good. You just focus on taking care of the women and not getting hurt," Emmett says and I'm reminded that Jacob does have the potential to come and attack here.

"Please," I smirk as my hand pulls back to trace over the dimples in his cheeks, "When have you over known me to jump into something head-first?"

His smile turns into a devilish thing and I have to stop from breathing to contain the reaction my body has to his smirk. He nuzzles his nose across mine and whispers, "I can think of a few examples."

I grab his hair again and the smirk transforms into boyish laughter. I can recover. I hit his chest and growl, "You're dead meat when you get back."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" he asks between laughs.

My face jumps to his and I narrow my eyes onto his mouth as my lips just barely touch his so I can whisper, "It's a promise."

He's my pudding now, I can feel it in the weakness of his arms, and I grin with satisfaction. He whispers back, "You're a devil woman."

"I know," I can't help but to grin as I lean up against him, pressing my body to his in a more seductive manner.

"It's time," Edward, the downer, says, breaking up the good spirits.

Suddenly the slight fear creeps back into me and I look into my Emmett's eyes as I repeat, "Don't be a hero."

And he repeats, "Be nice."

I kiss is lips gently, a reminder of what's to come, and whisper," I love you."

He kisses me back hard with the intention of reminding me the kind of treatment I will recieve if I am nice, "I love you too."

I watch at the window with Esme and Alice and Jasper as the hurd of wolves and our three men start from a trot to a run, Edward of course at the lead. Esme holds onto Alice to keep her standing. I'm completely terrified by the state Alice has been in, how constantly drugged she must be in order to get through the days. My eyes jump to Jasper and there is the expression of pain that he conceals from her vision. The way he must feel...my mind jumps to Emmett giving himself so helplessly on the field. But as if summoned by my thoughts he turns around just before him and the other men vanish and gives me the ghost of a wink, making me pudding in his hands again. Oh Emmett, how does he do this to me?

A light oder catches our attention and we turn our direction to the little brown boy walking through the snow. It's Seth and for a moment I'm terrifed he's going to catch some kind of human disease but my eyes narrow at his feet and I remember the abnormal warmth attached to them. I open the door before he gets to it and smirk, "What's wrong, Seth? Finally realized what a _bore_ your wolves are?"

"I realized that a LONG time ago, Rose," Somehow, having him here makes me feel better and more relaxed. He walks up to the door, "I'm just hear to tell you guys about the game plan."

"We know the game plan. If Jacob shows up, we kill him," I say with a nod of my head. His reaction is just what I want, a wide eyed bewilderment that makes me laugh. I shake my head, "I'm joking, Seth. We help you and the other wolves stop him. We protect the women."

"I don't feel right about you boys over there alone," Esme sighs as she rubs Jasper's arm. She shakes her head, "They should have left one of the bigger boys behind."

Seth gasps and points to himself, "I AM THE BIGGER BOY. Look at me!"

He begins to do some flexes that make us laugh. The humor is that he does them not to show off but to prove in fact that he does have the body of an almost grown man. Like the other wolves, he does appear very strong and very capable of battle. But still. He's so young. He's just a boy. If Jacob were to come him and the other two would be dead meat.

"You guys understand now?" he asks, still holding one of his poses.

"Sure, short-stuff, we get it," I say, standing straight so he can see I am taller than him.

He points to my high, high, heels with exasperation, "That's ALL the shoes. You've got nothing on me."

I narrow my eyes at him as I cross my arms over my chest, "You sure about that?"

He laughs, "Oh, I'm positive."

"Children. I think this is the wrong time to be picking fights with each other," Esme says, making us both laugh.

"Oh, you have your Mommy fighting your battles for you now?" Seth asked with such a smile that neither I nor Emse can get offended.

"No, but I do kindly ask her to sweep up the trash every now and then," I return, making him gasp.

"That was ice cold, Cullen," he says as he shakes his head and folds his arms over his chest to mock my stance.

"Ice-Cold is my middle name," I smirk, not changing my position.

"You said something about a game plan," Jasper quickly interjects. His voice sounds wasted and hoarse so no one minds that he has become short.

"Yeah...we figured it would be better if every hour we changed positions. Always having two wolves and one vamp over there and one wolf and two vamps over here. We thought that might increase our chances of picking him up here," he explains.

"But there are four of us here," Esme answers softly. We cringe at the term 'vampire' because it reminds some of us of the monsters we used to be.

"Well..."he looks down as if bashful but in truth he doesn't want to come off as offensive, " Alice isn't really in the fighting mood...is she?"

We turn to look at them and poor little Alice is on the sofa, hiding her head under pillows. Jasper looks from her to us and nods with understanding. None of us would expect her to be up for battle. None of us expect her to do a thing but try to get over the boulder that is blocking her visions. Poor Alice, poor little sister.

"I'll go first," Esme says quickly with a small hint of excitement. Being with her for so long I know she had been waiting for the opprutunity to look after the younger boys and make sure they were safe.

"Does that mean you'll be staying here, Seth?" I ask with a little smile. At least now I could keep my own eye on him and make sure he wasn't a hero either.

"Ehhhh..." his eyes look to Esme, "I'm sorry Rosalie but I think Brady is going to hang out here first. I'm sorry Esme but if Jacob comes I couldn't trust you to take him out. I'm going to make sure you're fighting to your full potential out there."

Both I and Esme stare with wide eyes but she answers, "Fine. But that just means I'm going inside the house to talk with the _other _women."

I smile and shake my head as her and Seth leave and Brady returns. He is a small rambuncious boy that does not sit still, not for the whole hour. Jasper, Alice, and I watched at the windows as he stood outside of the house only to run to one side as if he heard something and then to the other only to find out it was nothing. Squirl-Boy we called him.

The next hour Jasper and Alice had left while Collin came to replace Brady. Esme and I watched as Collin sat in the front for the entire hour. We made a game of trying to guess what he was thinking but every so often he'd turn around and shake his head to tell us that we were wrong. Esme finally brought up the topic, "is it a girl?" and his ears pricked up and his hair stood on end. He walked away then to the other side of the house to find a place where he couldn't hear our gossiping. We guessed he was in love with a girl he hadn't imprinted on and he had once hoped for a life like Bella and Jacob's but now...now he was questioning that.

The next hour I was stationed in the snow with Collin and Squirl-Boy. Between one running around from place to place and the other moping I couldn't take it. I had to walk into the house with the women who were sitting around about to pop. Billy looked at me questioningly but I put up my hand-slowly, even slower than my pretending to be human speed-and turned my fist into a peace sign. They relaxed but not completely. The stories of my kind gave them a sense of danger that they deserved to have. If it wasn't for that mutt odor clinging to them, growing inside of some of them, they might make my mouth water.

I took a seat that was left vacant, no doubt Esme's. I wondered briefly if they were welcoming to her but I take in the cold mug of hot chocolate left on the table. They must have offered it to her and she was too sweet to say no. What is it about Esme that makes everyone fall in love with her? It's her sweetness, no doubt. It's that gentleness in her eyes, her need to constantly care, things that she gives to everyone but me. Some how I miss her radar and her affection sprinkles around me like glitter that just doesn't...do the trick. My mind jumps to our rocky beginings, my fault no doubt, but I still shouldn't be crucified for it.

The sound of the television brings my attention back to the present. I realize that my face is folded into a scowl and my eyes are glued to the belly of the Alpha's with the scars. Emily, I believe her name is. I try to change my scowl but the belly seems to be pointed right at me as if taunting. As if the little mutt inside is trying to attack me and push me away from its mother. Well little mutt. Come get me. No.

I have to be nice. Emmett told me to be nice. For some reason unknown to me he enjoys these people. These people that hate us. But do they. I look at them briefly watching me, stiff all over again, and I wonder if they hate me or are just curious. Do I even hate them? Yes. Their ability to reproduce gives me that affirmation. It's the same thing that made me hate Bella. All the things that she had, that she was giving away. If she had come to her senses earlier we could leave on mutual terms but what she had done to Edward was unforgivable, even if I could understand her decision.

"I'm jealous of you," I say simply, my eyes never leaving the big belly.

"Excuse me?" Billy asks, getting a bit uppidy in his wheel chair.

"Not you. Her and her," I say pointing to the two pregnant women. I figure if I can't shake my anger because my thoughts are just making me angrier I might as well give them an explanation.

"Us...why?" Emily asks. Jacob's sister, Rachel, looks confused as well but she doesn't speak to me. She only watches as she caresses her belly, ready to react.

"Because. Look at the both of you. Do you know how lucky you are? I've _always_ wanted a family of my own with my Emmett but you know what we are. We can't have families. I'd gladly give up everything that I have for a chance, just a chance, to know the joy you both must feel when the little things move inside of you. It fills me with such burning jealousy...It makes me hate myself," I add the last part a bit softer. My eyes go low to the ground as I think how happy Emmett and I would be with a child, a small child that we could raise together. He would be the perfect father and he would make me so happy to be a mother.

"But...you're so beautiful...you're...you're gorgeous...you're what the greeks described to be a goddess...you have everything I've ever wanted," Emily's voice is fragile as she comes clean but her words aren't true. Maybe with her scars she feels less of a woman but she is still beautiful and she must know that.

"Your scars paint a picture around your body. They give you the appearance of the Amazon warriors that women descended from. You Quilette women all have the same strength in your eyes that makes you frightening, far more frightening than your little wolves running around playing hero. Your men aren't a concern to me, but what I'm most afraid of is the wrath you all will attack me with if I were to take action," I say these things with a shrug as I look over their features. They have the same dark eyes, dark hair, dark skin, but they are all drastically different. Behind their masks of calm is a torture chamber with my head jumping around like a volley ball. My attempt at being nice is not working. "Well...that's me trying to be friendly."

Emily gives a brief smile as she looks away, thinking about the things that I had said, but it is Rachel that gives a nice and hardy laugh, "You're really bad at being friendly."

I can't help but to crack a little grin,"Yeah, I know."

There's a knock on the door that makes everyone go stiff but I know it's not Jacob. I grin because it's Seth. I turn around and walk to the door to see him standing with hands firmly on his hips. His hair is tossed around with snow and his shorts are all ripped up. I can't help but to laugh at his disrupted appearance, "What happened?"

"Brady thought I was Jacob and decided to try and attack me," he says as he shakes himself clean, making me turn away to protect myself from the wet flakes of snow. He walks in and the air is purged of all the awkwardness there was before. He waves at everyone, "Hey guys. Em, where's my hot chocolate?"

"In the microwave," she says, pointing behind her and indicating she is not going to get up to serve him. I take the opprutunity to get it before he considers moving but it proves to be the wrong thing because Billy is reaching for some gun by the time I get back.

I hold the mug tenderly as I offer it, looking slightly bewildered, "Still trying to be fri-"

A twig snaps in an area it shouldn't. The mug falls from my hands and before the pungent smell of wild hits my nose I leap into the air, tackling the giant wolf Jacob backwards through the window he bursts through. Already Jasper and Esme are beside me but I shout, "HELP THE WOMEN!" to Esme and Jasper and they do. Alice is on her knees crying out in pain but I can't help her now. The wolf getting to his knees is my concern. Seth and Brady and Collin are at my flanks and in the snow this russett wolf appears to have doubled in size since the newborn attack. What everyone has been repeating is true. This cannot be Jacob.

Everything happens at once. Collin jumps through the air at Jacob's left while Brady jumps low and grabs at Jacob's front right paw and Seth runs head on. The wolf's large head tosses them all away in seconds but before any of them hit the ground I jump onto his back and follow the direction of his bristling fur around his neck where my arms lock into a chocker, bringing him down. The size is far too wide and every muscle in my body that had never been used since becoming a vampire is being used now and I'm forced to lock my legs and arms into a place that digs into his skin. He howls and runs and shakes his body with such strength my grip slips and slips but I think of Emmett and Seth and how I promised everyone I would protect the women and Bella. I promised.

Seth comes to the rescue and pounces on Jacob's back, sending him collapsing onto me so roughly I let go. But this isn't good. Jacob grabs my body into his mouth and his teeth dig through my stomach and the parts I thought were protect by hard skin but that isn't it. A harsh scream escapes my mouth as the pain spins through me and my legs flail and I try to escape but he's not done and the fear grips me. His head begins the shake I knew would come and as I scream louder and louder my body crumbles apart and shreds into two thick pieces that go flying.

I'm paralyzed in a pain even stronger than my transformation and as I hit the ground I feel as though my body is burning, twisting, and breaking as they search to be complete. On my face in the snow I scream because I can't take it, I can't, I can't I can't! The pain grows into a symphony of my legs trying to come closer but they're so far and I hear howls of disaster and I cry for Emmett, oh Emmett, please don't be here, please don't try to save me.

But then my senses are brought back by the sound of a snap and far too human voice that is Seth, little Seth, and his screams being muffled further and further into snow. As if summoned by the same noise my body snaps together with a loud crack that combines me again and fills me with an agony that can't compare to the thought that the only creature that can transend the barriers between us might die because of us. Because I couldn't save him.

All I see is Seth pinned under Jacob's enormous wolf form and then my vision turns into a dark red as I tackle Jacob to the ground yet again and we go spinning down the slope of the hill with my arms ripping and tearing at fistfuls of his skin. He cries and whimpers at every bump because it's another pound of flesh my hands are ripping from his skin and his body and every part of him because he can't get his feet on the ground with all the spins. If Seth is dead, if little Seth is dead, no one would be angered by the thought that I murdered Jacob Black. But then, we hit a rock and I am ejected from my victim and into a bank of snow.

"Rosalie!" Esme calls out to me but it sounds so far away. "Rose!"

"I'm here!" I yell. As I slowly lift my head up, "How's Seth?"

"He's breathing! He's going to be o-"

And then everything goes very, very dark.


	12. Chapter 12

**Back to Bella's POV again.**

A frightening warmth fills the room as I cower under the gaze of the wildman. I wonder where my protectors are and I wonder what he has done to them. Are they all dead? The friends that I love? Has he destroyed them all? Has he destroyed them like he has destroyed me? He shifts forward and I cringe away, making him pause. There's something in that pause that is familiar. Something familiar in the way his hair is wet from snow that melts down his body and his shorts and onto the floor. There's something familiar about the way he looks at me.

"Bella."

His voice is strong like the wildman's but his body is still weak. It is only now that I notice blood drying and cuts healing. What have they done to him? What has he done to them? I shut my eyes and hold the covers over me tighter, hoping they can protect me and make this boogey man go away.

But then he says my name softly, like the Jacob I married, "...Bella?"

My eyes peak open and his eyes are back. But they are not the way I want. Tears fall from his features and I can't make out the constant switching of his features. The tears are a steady stream but his expression morphs from desperasion to disgust. I don't know who he's judging, me or himself. But it's terrible. The pain in my heart grows in multitudes as I think of the Jacob that used to lay next to me and brush my hair from my face when I had a bad dream. The Jacob that I would cling to when I thought he was gone. The Jacob that would surprise me with breakfast. The Jacob that promised we would grow up and have children. The Jacob that made me so happy.

I release the covers slowly and raise them up to the empty space beside me. Softly I whisper, "Come...Just come lay down with me."

Instead of happiness he greets my request with anguish. I can't take the look on his face. What have I done to him. Tears fall down my face as I he replies, "No. I could never take the same bed as you."

"Jacob?" I whisper softly, feeling so disgusting, feeling so dirty and hopless, "Please? Please, Jacob, I NEED you. Please?"

"NO! After what you did to m-..." his jaw clenches and he looks away, "Do you know how much I love you?"

"No! No! I don't! You constantly leave me for God know's who and then you come back and abuse me! I don't know how much you love me! You s-"

Before I can finish his hand grabs my face and smooshes my cheeks together. I taste blood in my mouth as old cuts reopen and and break apart newly healed skin against my teeth. I can feel my head squishing and hear the creaking in my skull as the pressure increases. My eyes focus on his chest because that's as far as they can go up.

My tears fall like a river as I try to get out, "Jacob...please? Let go!"

"Listen hear," it's the wildman speaking now. I'm all ears. "I'm going to steal you away and make you birth my children and when you're done I'm going to rip you to shreds and leave no evidence of your existance behind. The only thing that will be left is a small piece of flesh I will leave in Charlie's car so that he can constantly smell the rot that has become his daughter. That's all you're worth to me now."

My eyes have been squeezed shut to try and block out the images that unfold from his words. Nights repeated of the same treatment I have constantly endured. Days of his absense. The only affection in my direction being a high five when I have been impregnated with another litter of his evil puppies. Where has my Jacob gone. Oh Charlie...why didn't I listen to him when I had the chance.

"We're leaving NOW," he whispers in the voice he used to use when we got into little fights. Just little ones at Jared or Paul's parties. It reminds me of good times. Just good times from long ago.

His hand releases my mouth so quickly my skin screams from having to adjust to a life without him. My eyes stay shut as I replu, "Okay...Okay Jacob...I...I'm sorry...and...and I know you wont forgive me...but I'm your wife and I forgive you for everything you do to me. I deserve it...I wasn't enough...I was never enough for someone like you."

Silence fills the air between us but his warmth was still all around me. Slowly my eyes peak open and there he is, his closeness is intoxicating because he is there. I can see my Jacob. It's Jacob inside. I lift my hand slowly and run it against his hot cheek, feeling the smoothness of the skin I haven't been welcome to in so long. I gauge his reaction and when he doesn't flinch away a happiness fills my chest. He's back. He's here.

My arms reach outward and wrap around his neck gently, since they still ache from the abuse they had been inflicted. His body goes stiff under the hug but he doesn't back away. All of this is promising and it is something I will forever hold onto. Even if he lashes out at me now. I have this moment. This means Jacob will return to me.

Slowly he sinks into the hug and his arms are gentle as they encircle me. He sits on the bed and whispers softly into my ear between tears, "Oh Bella...I...I'm so sorry...I can't...I can't be here with you anymore...I don't...I don't know what's happening to me I'm so scared and I'm so...I'm a monster! You have to run away from me Bella!" he shouts these words in my ears but he doesn't let go, "You have to leave!"

But how can I? How can I leave when there is the smallest promise that my Jacob will return to me in little moments like this. I made a vow that I will be with him in sickeness and in health. Even if it's a few seconds a day, even if it's a few seconds a year, even if I'm dead. Jacob is mine. And I love him. I love him so much. I can't leave him. I can't leave him ever again.

Slowly though, his grip on me tightens and awakens the pain that he pounded into my flesh and bones. But I hold onto his neck just as tight, trying and willing him to stay with me-stay with me forever-but it doesn't work. I know this feeling; I know this kind of embrace. He stands to his feet and this time I'm holding on tight so that I don't hit the floor. The wild man is back and I've allowed him close enough to rip me apart.

"Bella," his voice is distorted again. It isn't the voice I love. His grip on my back is harder and harder and I let out a cry because it feels as though he is going to crush my spin against him, "Don't you dare touch me."

Like a rag doll I'm tossed to the wall above the bed and I drop, bouncing twice onto the floor. I'm not sure which hurts more. My body or my heart. Which part of my can't take the abuse anymore? Which part of me can't take the transformation? He steps toward me with such loud stomps I wonder how it didn't awaken me. I try to hide in the corner, somewhere so far down he can't reach but I know it's no use. He is everywhere.

His hand reaches down and then it vanishes and is replaced by the sound of a loud SLAM that sends wood and debris falling all over me. I scream and cover myself from the falling pieces but when I peak open I see Rosalie standing with her back to me and her body shaking with such force I'm terrified she will unleash her fury on me. She jumps down onto the floor, onto something I can't see, and repeatedly begins to beat on what I can only imagine is my Jacob. I want to stop her but the sound that rips through her throat terrifies me.

After what feels like forever she finally stops, standing to her feet with vampire speed. She is still shaking with anguish or hatred I can't tell. She turns and looks at me and it is now that I see what has become of her features. Her hands and arms are twisted in the wrong direction. Her breasts appear to be gone. Her legs are bending awkwardly. Chunks of her face and skull are sticking out all over her head and one eye is bulging outward while her nose sinks low onto her cheek, her mouth is crooked, everything about her has been ripped apart.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" she's crying. Real tears. Maybe not real tears. But slow liquid rolls down her cheeks, slow like a clear pink and purple tinted jelly oozing from spots that shouldn't ooze. My Jacob couldn't have done this to her.

"ROSE!" Emmett's voice rings through the air and is in a terrifying panic and Rosalie falls to her knees letting out the harshes shriek ever known to the creatures of the Earth. I cover my ears and shrink back from the sound.

Most of the pack as well as most of the vampires arrive to see the state everything is in. They are stunned into silence as they see the goddess of the Cullens so disfigured. What did this to her? What happened? Emmett is the first to react but it isn't helpful. A loud sob escapes his mouth and he covers his face in shame. Carlisle moves forward and helps Rosalie onto her back where he begins to hush her. The wolves have transformed into humans again and they stare terrified. They shake with horror. What has happened to the beautiful Rosalie is the stuff campfires are made out of.

"Rosalie!" It's Seth's voice. He comes through the pack, his face is just as mangled as Rosalie's but it's healing at such a quick rate it looks to be painful. Emmett finally stirs and moves to Carlisle's side. Seth looks down at them and begins to cry as he runs forward, "Rosalie! Rosalie!"

Embry turns to me, shaking all over, shaking completely, "What happened? What happened?"

Everything begins to spin. Everything gets so out of control.


	13. Chapter 13

**TO THE PERSON THAT TOLD ME TO WATCH MY GRAMMAR AND SPELLING...thank you. I'm sorry about all the mistakes, I don't usually proof-read but I will start doing it now. It's not fair that I ruin the story by not taking the time to edit. But I'll start doing it after this one. Since it is late and I am tired I can't make it perfect. Sorry. And to heazuluvya she was yelling at Bella.**

**Edward's POV**

The silence is bitter. Our group meetings have switched locations and we must endure our own company in the Cullen home. Carlisle has contacted some old friends to fix both Billy and Sam's home but we don't think about that. In everyone's mind is the face of Rosalie Hale and the sleeping heap of disaster that has become Jacob Black's body. He is alive but he heals slowly. This gives us enough time to think.

But we don't think of things that can benefit us. Instead our minds are scattered images of events that occured while most of us were away chasing a phantom vision. We think about Brady and Collin who are in my room on the only bed in the house-the bed I had been intending to keep as a relic of old times but has now been washed to accomidate our guests-with Esme and Rachel and Kim. The poor boys suffered the least of the injuries but they faced the most of the scare. Their minds jump from the Jacob they knew to the one that broke their arms and legs, forcing them to watch him mutilate Rosalie and Seth. Seth sits with us in the kitchen, refusing any attention except from Leah who won't dare leave his side. On his healing body and bones he keeps ice packs tied and on his missing pieces of flesh Carlisle has applied ointments that allow him to evade infection. We refuse to look at him refusing our attention. His mind stays on Rosalie and Emmett.

Rosalie and Emmett.

Watching them in Sam and Emily's room was a deeper pain than Bella's rejection. I wasn't sure what hurt the most, seeing Rosalie without her beauty and confidence or Emmett without his smile. We all tried to help but our hands all shook with a terror that was uncommon to any of us. Wolf tried to help vampire while vampire tried to help wolf help her. But we could do nothing. She twisted and screamed in anguish as we pulled her limbs apart to fit them back into place but the hard part was having to watch Emmett strap her down against his chest as he sobbed and growled and roared. I could never imagine the despair he must have felt. I had been so selfish to imagine that only I could feel true heart break.

Soon after her limbs were in place she cried that she couldn't take us looking at her. She didn't want us or anyone to see what she had become. She tried to run away but Emmett had her strapped against him and in her mind, deep down she was terrified he would never love her again. With her face still mixed up she allowed Emmett to follow her deep into the waters of First Beach. Every now and then the wind carries her screams and we are forced to feel a very human chill down our spines. But we hope the water makes it an easy job to put her back together. We hope she allows Emmett to help and we hope Emmett can do it.

"What...what do we do now?" Quil's voice breaks the silence. His mind had gone down a sweeter path to dull the pain of having lost his best friend but the thoughts of Claire combined with the sight of Rosalie brings him a fear that all of us in love can relate to.

"..I don't know...," Sam says softly. He stands facing the window with his back to us in the kitchen. His arms are folded over his chest and the hairs on his body are visibly on end. All night he had been trying to determine ways to stop the maddness and trying to find ways to fix the trouble at hand. His only options were kill Jacob or have us take Bella very, very far away. None of them were very good ideas.

"What I want to know," Embry. His mind had been blank rage, a red wall of hatred that had no face but the Cullens. His arms had not stopped to shake but his voice was strong and loud, "is how could SHE TRICK US."

His eyes were on Alice who sat calmly with her back against Jasper's chest. During the fight Jacob had repeatedly smashed her face against the hard frozen floor and her visions had become a consistant painless blur. But she hadn't spoken and the blur makes her thoughts blank. Jasper as well was faced with Jacob's wrath. He had been launched two hundred miles away into the ocean and was almost lost completely under a sheet of ice that had cooled thick. They were both quietly in guilt. His hands never left her.

"We explained that her abilities are of no use to her when it comes to werewolves. Her visions are not an asset any more," Carlisle is exhausted. His ususal kindness has been watered down from having to fix so many broken and bleeding things. But still, there is more.

"NO YOU DIDN'T. YOU'RE ALL THE SAME YOU BLOOD-SUCKERS, YOU MONSTERS! YOU COME TO US AND YOU RUIN EVERYTHING AND EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO SAVING YOUR OWN KIND YOU CAN'T DO IT! YOU SHOULD ALL BURN IN HELL!"

Everyone has been brought out of their mind and dragged out into the open. We look at Embry with confusion. Tears fall down his face and his body seems to have lost its ability to resist shaking. Even with Quil at his side holding him back he is unable to calm down. There is something terribly wrong.

But in his tears his wall shatters and a whirlwind is unleashed. Since he had laid eyes on Rosalie he had wished for a woman like her. They all did. Sometimes he and some of the other wolves that had yet to imprint would discus her beauty and her confidence and how even though she was a "bitch" she was the right kind of "bitch." The kind that could be one because she was so beautiful. But they would never try to steal her from Emmett. They knew with the way they looked into each others eyes that they were soul mates. Sometimes they would talk about how they wanted a soulmate instead of someone to imprint on. They wanted a relationship like Emmett and Rosalie. They didn't want anything like anyone else. Seeing the disarray both were in had sent him over the edge. He was crumbling from guilt because the only couple he ever truly admired was somewhere between hell and death and it was his fault. Not to mention his best friend was the cause. Jacob Black, the Jacob he had known all of his life. Jacob who had been there for him when he had fights with his mother or when he was being picked on at school, Jacob who had always defended him. Jacob was the monster he never thought he could be.

And it was his fault. It was his comment on the last day of the last meeting: "And what about you Jake? No puppies any time soon? Does Bella regret picking the big bad wolf already?" It was that comment that set Jacob down this path.

"Embry, man, calm down," Quil hushed.

"No! Look at her! She doesn't care! No one does!"

"That's not true! You know we're all trying to find a solution!" Paul yells.

"Are we! What about them! They only thing they've done is fuck everything up!"

"Like what Embry? Hm? What have they fucked up?" Seth asks, his voice still hoarse.

"Everything! Look at you! Look at Collin and Brady! Look at Jacob! Look at Emi-"

"DON'T. YOU. DARE."

The voice is demanding and calls for our attention. We are unable to deny it. We turn around slowly and there Emily is. Emily who we thought was with Bella in the livingroom has been standing there the entire time. Her hands are tight fists at her sides and her eyes are narrowed in disgust on Embry. His mouth his half way open, unable to finish her name.

"How DARE you say that THEY don't care! I was THERE! I watched as ALICE got slammed REPEATEDLY against the ground as if she were a hammer on a nail! I WATCHED as JASPER was thrown away like a baseball! I WATCHED as ESME JUMPED BETWEEN JACOB'S DEATH TO PROTECT COLLIN AND BRADY! I WATCHED HER GET WRIPPED IN HALF AND I WATCHED SETH GET CRUSHED UNDER JACOB AND I WATCHED ROSALIE'S HEAD GET BITTEN OFF AND CHEWED AND I WATCHED HER GET SPAT OUT AND I WATCHED SETH TRY TO STOP JACOB AND ESME TRY TO PIECE HERSELF BACK TOGETHER AND ALICE TRY TO LURE JACOB AWAY AND I WATCHED JASPER COME BACK AND TRY TO STOP EVERYTHING AND BILLY TRY TO SHOOT HIS OWN SON AND I WATCHED AS THEY ALL WORKED TOGETHER TO STOP HIM! I WATCHED THEM DO EVERYTHING THAT YOU DIDN'T! IF YOU WANT TO BLAME SOMEONE BLAME YOURSELF! WHERE WERE YOU? HUH?"

"Emily...stop..." Sam whispers, as he tries to pull her away. But she is on a rampage, defending us. Where this is coming from, all this affection, I don't know.

"NO! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF YOU BLAMING THEM FOR YOUR OWN PATHETIC PROBLEMS! ROSALIE AND ESME BOTH TOLD ME AND RACHEL HOW JEALOUS THEY WERE OF US! ABOUT HOW BADLY THEY WANTED CHILDREN WHEN I'M TERRIFIED MY CHILD WILL GROW UP LIKE ALL OF YOU! PATHETIC! YOU THINK THEY WANT TO BE WHAT THEY ARE? YOU THINK THEY ENJOY YOU ALL THROWING IT IN THEIR FACES THAT THEY'RE VAMPIRES! I'M SICK OF YOU HATING THEM FOR JUST EXISTING! GROW UP ALL OF YOU WITH YOUR INABILITY TO ACCEPT THE PRESENT AND YOUR INABILITY TO ACCEPT YOUR OWN FAULTS! IF YOU WANT TO BLAME SOMEONE EMBRY DON'T BLAME THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE HERE WHEN YOU WEREN'T! YOU WANT TO BLAME SOMEONE BLAME YOUR ANCESTORS! BLAME UTLAPA BLA-...I...I...Sam...my...my water just broke...Sam? Sam! Doctor?"

Utlapa...all at once we were frozen with the same thought. From Emily's mouth to Sam's brain and then passing slowly like a wave from wolf to wolf until it trickled into mine and then became amplified until it reached Carlisle and Jasper and Alice. Utlapa and Taha Aki. The Spirit Chiefs.

"Can someone help me?" Emily's screams bring us back to the present and Carlisle is back in action. We are all suddenly focused as we try to help her but she screams, "No! I don't want any of you near me! I swear I'll kill myself if ANY of you imprint on her! I'll do it! I'll kill the both of us!"

The wolves hang their ends but the blows are superficial. Emily's love is as unjudging as Esme's and they understand the pregnancy and their actions have made her so angry. But more important matters are to be discussed and thought of. While Carlisle and Esme help Emily to the shower and Sam goes to fetch the baby bag we sit in the kitchen and lean in as if we are to huddle. The atmosphere has shifted and it seems Emily's outburst has changed the dynamics. Cold shoulder touches warm one and noses don't crinkle so much in discust. We have become a team it seems. We're all on the same page.

"Do you guys know about Utlapa?" Jared asks Jasper, Alice, and I.

"Yes. I recieved the memories telepathically from you all and was able to transmit them to my siblings," I explain.

Paul's brow furrows, "I didn't know you can do that."

Sheepishly I shrug, "It's new."

"Well, anyway, what I think we're all thinking is that maybe we can, even though it hasn't been done in forever, get Jacob to go into the spirit world and maybe leave his Alpha force thing there or relinquish it or something and come back to himself," it's easy to see now why Jared is the Beta. Although he may not be as articulate, he picks up where Sam leaves off.

"How do we know we can REACH Jacob?" Leah asks, a bit hesitant to join the huddle. The whole time she had been beating herself up for leaving her baby brother with no one to protect him. But now, now she wants vengence.

"Me. I'm unsure if it works with anyone else but as I mention before, recently I have been able to import my thoughts into the air around me and my siblings have been able to pick it up. If I am able to think a certain stream of thoughts clear and strong enough I may be able to get him to pick it up," I interject. With all the activity and all the discussing a feeling I haven't felt in ages fills me. It is hope.

"Hope..." they mumble and I look around in confusion. Only Jared smiles, "It worked."

"So...how are we going to do this...when...when he wakes up?" Quil asks, still tentative on the matters of Jacob.

"No...I have a better idea. Maybe we can get him while he's still sleeping. Maybe we can get you close enough to him so that he can't get excited and try to break the chains but he will listen to you. Maybe this just might work, "Jared grins, looking into my eyes as if I'm the key.

"Yeah..." Alice's soft voice fills the air and suddenly I am filled with an image, a vision of me in the clearing again but this time I am alone. Suddenly it makes sense. We have Jacob tied down there. That's the only reason I would go. "I think...it just might work."

"Great! Let's go!" Seth yells, standing to his feet.

"Wait, we can't make the same mistake we did last time. Now we need the same number of people defending as well as attacking. Seth, Leah, Alice, you stay here with Esme, Bella, Collin, and Brady. Jasper, Edward, Paul, Quil, Embry, and me will go to Jacob in the clearing. Worst case scenario Jasper, you do that super chill thing you do and then we're outta there like vladimir," Jared grins, rubbing his hands together.

"What if it doesn't work?" Leah asks, calmly, holding onto Seth's shoulders.

"Well...then...," Jared looks up and around with nothing but the confidence a game maker can hold, "we figure something else out."


	14. Chapter 14

**Bella's POV**

The first thing that hit me was the smell. Warm, sweet, artificial. I instantly recognized it as the Cullen home. The same Cullen home I had fallen in love with on my first venture to it. The second thing that hit me was the pain. It wasn't the pain in my back or the pain in my body, it was something stronger. Hunger. That was the name that I associated to the pain, it was something familiar. Slowly, with my eyes still closed, I realized I hadn't eaten in two days. I was starving.

I opened my eyes and sat up slowly. There was a soreness in my body that I was unfamiliar with, as if my body were being drained with every movement. I open my mouth to call for Emily but I realize that she is gone. A fear grips me and fills my chest as I frantically search for someone, anyone. Has Jacob done it again?

"Bella?" It's Rachel's voice calling my name. Slowly I relax and let out the soft breath I had been holding in. She smiles softly and walks over to me, standing behind the sofa, "Are you alright?"

"Where's Emily?" I try to get to my feet and I try to stand but I feel so weak and I feel so sore. Rachel sees this and without mentioning my weakness she helps me stand. I wonder how she could be so strong during this commotion. I wonder how she isn't screaming and sobbing and throwing things like I want to.

"She's in labor. She's about to have the baby," Rachel smiles as she puts her arm around me and I look down at her own baby bump. As if to answer my unspoken question she looks down at her belly and says, "I've got three more months on me, Bella. Don't worry. I'm not giving birth anytime soon. Where do you want to go?"

"The kitchen," I'm leading her forward with slight shuffles of my feet. I find it so odd that they are here, I find it so odd that the wolves have invaded the Cullen home. We enter the kitchen and there I find the women but I don't find Edward or any of the men. Confusion fills me, "Where is everyone?"

"You know them, always worried. They can't stay in one place," Rachel says as she sits down on one of the stools. I sit beside her and look up at Kim and Esme.

Esme smiles at me the same kind of smile that my mother used to give to me when she was lying to protect me. But I don't let them know that I know something is going on. Instead I ask, "Who's here?"

"Collin and Brady are sleeping upstairs. Seth and Leah left to go check on Sam and Emily. Carlisle is assisting with the delivery. It's just us now," Kim answers. Her eyes are cast downward and I look to these women and wonder how they are not shredded pieces of themselves without their partner. I wonder how they are stronger than me.

"Bella? Are you hungry?" Esme's question springs forward a rawr from my stomach. They laugh and smile at me because I don't need to answer. "What would you like?"

"Steak," it's the first thing that pops to mind.

There are some looks that are sent my way, some confused ones that seem unsure but Esme gives me her big smile, "You're in luck. We have some. You girls want the same thing?"

Rachel and Kim sheepishly nod their head, "Yeah."

"Great, how do you want it?" Esme asks as she begins getting everything-the meat, the pans, some corn, some potatoes and milk-onto the counter.

"Well done, almost crispy," Rachel says, licking her lips and rubbing her tummy with a grin.

"Medium well, please," Kim says, looking to Rachel as if she were odd.

But it was my request that even frightened myself, "Bloody...please."

Esme doesn't answer us as she begins to work. I notice now the big portions that she works with. I guess she intends to cook for everyone. It amazes me how she is able to cook everything just right without the ability to taste it. The room is quiet with just the sound of Esme working. Oh, how I wish to be Edward to know what they are thinking of me.

"...Bella...how are you feeling?" Kim asks me softly. It's an awkward question but it's directed toward me and I have to speak.

"I'm alright...I'm just...starving," I answer, my eyes can't meet hers just as hers can't meet mine. I could never really talk to Kim, she seemed to be a shining star like someone from the movie screens. She seemed to be on another level.

"So am I, it feels like fore_ver_ since I've eaten," Rachel sighs as she leans over onto the counter.

"It's probably harder for you since you're pregnant," I comment absentmindedly, "What is it?"

"The baby?" she asks me, stroking her stomach, "It's a girl."

"What are you going to name her?" I ask as I slowly look up.

"Sarah...I'm going to name her Sarah..after my mom," her voice is a little shakie but I don't press any further, knowing how tough the death of Sarah was to all of them.

"That sounds beautiful," I smile up at her before looking over to Kim, "When are you planning on having a baby?"

Her face fell slightly, became serious. Her eyes were focused on some part of me, not my face or my eyes, something else. She shook her head as if in fear, "Never. I'm never having a baby."

"Why is that?" I asked softly, seeing the conviction in her small eyes.

Her eyes flickered up to Rachel as if unsure but she decided to speak, "I don't want...I love Jared...I love him with all of my heart...but this imprinting thing...it's terrifying...all he ever wants to do is...you know and yeah I want that too...I am a teenage girl but I can't...I'm so scared that all this imprinting thing is...is a way for me to just shoot out more little puppy things...I'm scared...I'm scared Jared doesn't love me...I'm scared that it's just his DNA wanting to reproduce...and I don't want that."

"Are you going to break up with him?" my question was a soft whisper.

"No...I could never do that. I love him WAY too much to do that...to leave him. But I don't know...I don't know what I'm going to do," she sighs. Esme leaves a plate of steak in front of each of us and we begin to eat.

"I think you should talk to him," Rachel says as she picks up a fork eagerly.

"What if he gets mad at me?" Kim asks as she cuts out of piece of steak with her eating utensil.

"Well...Jared can get a little out of hand but he loves you and he'll listen...eventually," Rachel smiles teasingly, making Kim grin. "You know deep down in your heart if it was important to you Jared would never try to have sex with you again...he'd complain about it...but he would listen."

"Complain? I wish it were that simple," Kim says with a roll of her eyes. Suddenly her eyes land on me and her face looks a little confused and frightened, "Bella...are you alright?"

I nod my head and speak through my mouthful, "Yeah."

"Is there something wrong with your stomach?" Esme asks softly.

I shake my head, "No."

"...Bella...you're scaring me," Rachel whispers. It is then that I look down at myself and see that I've torn through the steak and am now sucking on bones with my face and right hand and shirt a bloody mess while my left hand has been stroking my stomach.

I put down the bone and lift up my shirt and find that a small solid bump has formed. I press down on it and feel my skin is tender as it presses against solid mass. I look up at Esme and whisper, "I think I need to talk to Carlisle."


	15. Chapter 15

**Jasper's POV**

"What did you see?"

They are the first words that leave my mouth upon my arrival. Before she can even deny it I know it is there: the look. It is the reassuring smile that she gives when something terribly tragic is going to unfold but somehow she still believes we can prevent it. I'm already covering my thoughts with the deep blanket of emotions I absorb at a constant. There is no time to sink into my exhaustion now. Something is on the way and my love needs my help to stop it.

She shakes her head and motions for me to come into her arms, "Tell me what happened first."

I'm weak to her will. I lean my head downward, far downward, onto her shoulder as her arms reach up to wrap around my neck. She is so small but somehow she manages to be one thousand feet tall in this instant. There is no need to help, I don't feel a strain on my back, but still she climbs up my body like a tree trunk and wraps her legs around my waist so I can rest my head on her shoulder with more ease. My mind flashes to what I had heard Emily scream. I hadn't known that while I was submerged in ice waters she was being battered against the ground. How could I have let that occur?

"Jasper?" her voice is soft and expectant.

"Since the outburst of Emily they have been kinder than expected. We visited Jacob and he was still in deep slumber. We waited far on the outer edges while Edward ventured closer and closer to him. It lasted for a matter of seconds before there was a grumble from the sleeping Jacob and Edward returned to us. He nodded his head once and that was it."

I give her the full explanation as quick as I can. I leave out the moment when the one they call Embry continued his assault against her. I leave out the moment I reached forward and grabbed his neck althrough he was still in his wolf form. I neglect the moment I told him to never speak of _her_ name in that tone ever again. I don't tell her the scuffle we entered ourselves in trying to pull Embry and myself away from one another. She doesn't need to know all of that.

"Your turn."

I feel the ends of her hair flick across my face as she shakes her head. It's that bad; it's that far off. I can feel her anxiety float off of her body like bubles from a child's mouth. Alice...sweet Alice. Once, twice, her hands flow through my hair but now it has become a continual action. I'm her little soldier boy now, relinquishing my control completely to her will. There's no fear I will attack the humans, the werewolf smell has imbeded itself into their pours and they have become tasteless. There's no fear I will attack Embry, he's millions of miles away now. She doesn't want to admit her vision and she made me swear to not numb her with my emotion manipulation. There's only one thing left to relax her and it's been almost a year since we've completed it.

Like a magnet my lips slide up from her neck and to her mouth where her own eagerly await mine. If this is how she must be calmed I am nothing if not joyful to aid her. Her hands grip into my hair-the hair she always jumps up to grab and pull and toy with when she knows I'm not looking-and forces my head close to hers as her legs tighten harshly, eliminating the nonexistanting chance I will pull away. My arms are tight around her while my hands are loose at the wrists, pulling up quickly her dress and ripping apart her under garments. In our home, in our usual manner, we are kind and gentle and sweet and patient but here we have no time for that. She lets out a squeak of a moan into my ear when someone asks, "What was that?"

Her voice is breathless, not that we need to breath, in my ear as she whispers in a voice only I can hear, "The woods. The snow."

Her last word is hardly spoken before we are in the woods, in our hiding place. A group of trees had collapsed under the weight of the snow and it has been here that we have hid while Alice's visions disturbed her. Under the logs she pushes me onto my back and sits on me, teasing me with the intensity she uses to unbutton my shirt. So slowly she goes, making me watch as my lust for her grows by the seconds. She lets my hands roam freely over her back, pulling apart ribbons and lace and strings that keep her bound. I know if I begged her to rip everything open she would wait longer, telling me she has more respect for clothing than to break it. But if she really did she wouldn't let me ruin her dress, her under garments, her shoes. She wouldn't let me force her into nudity as she finished with my last button.

She gives me a tiny grin that I force into vanishment under my mouth. The softness of her lips, the ease to which they move, the gentle spirit they run free with. Her lips are impossible to resist. My hands take control now and grab onto her face to make sure it doesn't move from it's perch above me. I love it when she is on top of me, coaxing me into the submission I so willingly give. She destroys my pants now, the little wild pixie has awoken from her slumber and she has no respect for anything but me. The way she grabs my hair, the way she grabs my limbs and forces me to hold her and to move. There is nothing that I can't give to this beautiful woman. There's nothing that I can keep from her.

Under the falling snow and broken logs we become one creature moving fluidly into and around and among each others body. Our actions are pleasing to the other, nothing in our movements is selfish. Her hand drags down my back so I moan, my hand rests on her neck so I can suck on her earlobe, her legs wrap around my waist so I can go in further, my hands squeeze at her breasts so she can beg for more. Time stops completely under the darkening sky for us. There is nothing but Alice and there is nothing but me to enjoy, we spend hours and more in our own company. She knows as I do this is the best part of being a vampire. We can spend forever here. We very well could.

But we don't stay in this moment for that long.

Eventually my question must be answered.

When we have calmed our frenzy she lays in my arms with her face pressed against my chest. She traces the scars of the many bites that make patterns on my skin and I shiver with joy from her touch. I think of our first night together and how I had been self concious for the first time under her gaze. But she stepped forward like a greedy child and kissed every old wound as if she didn't understand what scars were or how they came to be. We lay in our nest in the snow and speak not a word. She knows what she has to say and when she should say it.

It comes out as a whisper as soft as the wind, "It was Bella...she was laying on the floor...on our floor, in the livingroom but for some reason all the furniture...everything was gone. Her stomach was a gapping hole as if she had been eviscerated and she laid in a puddle of her own blood. She laid blinking as above her was a fight, a wild fight, between all of us. Me...you...the wolves...Esme...Carlisle! We all fought one another as if there was no alliance between any of us. Wolf against wolf, vampire against vampire. And Jacob...Jacob laid on the ground beside Bella...but his head...his face...it was as if he had been shot and his blood was rushing out onto the floor around him, mixing with Bella's own...and in the mess of the blood and chunks of their own skin...they held hands under the pile...and they died."

My hand reaches up to cup her chin and guide it from its protective state against my shoulder. Slowly I coax her back into the real world with my thumb stroking her cheek. Her eyes slowly open and I can see she is afraid, not terrified, but afraid. I whisper softly, "What do you want to do?"

"Leave."

The word is foreign and confusing. The thought had always been in the back of my mind but I had never brought it forward. When witnessing the state Rosalie was in...Emmett...Edward...I thought we should leave but I knew she never would want to go. I knew so much that I myself began to believe it was impossible. But here. Here she wants to flea, "Leave?"

"With Bella...it's the only way to save her. It's the only way to stop this mess," her voice is desperate as if she's trying to convince me of her solution.

My thumb crosses over her lips to shut her voice and I nod, looking deep into her eyes, "Okay. We'll go. When do you want to leave?"

She looks into my eyes. She looks deep into the places only she knows and rarely ventures. She looks into my heart and almost begs, "Now."


	16. Chapter 16

**Bella's POV**

"Lay down here, Bella, on the sofa. Don't worry. It's most likely nothing we can't fix."

"Okay."

"Have you been having problems using the bathroom?"

"Until recently no."

"What's the main trouble?"

"The stitches burn."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"I can give you some medication if you would like. Something to take the pain away in addition to the antibiotics."

"That would be great, thanks."

"Now, Bella, tell me...where does it hurt?"

Hurt. Where does it hurt? I can't tell him my heart. There's nothing he can do to fix that. I can't tell him my soul. According to Edward the vampires don't believe in such a thing. I can't tell him everything. Poor Carlisle is too exhausted for that kind of diagnoses. I look up at poor tired Carlisle who is expectant. In his study, surrounded by all his books, he looks even more like a guardian angel. I wish there was someone else that could help. I wish Rosalie were here.

I pick up his hand slowly, waiting for him to move where I guide. I put his hand gently on my stomach and wait for him to touch the toughness my skin has become. I wait for him to tell me my intestines have become stone from the worry. But he doesn't say anything. His face is stone cold as he looks at my stomach and his cold fingers prope, poking sore and tender spots.

"What did they name the baby?" I ask, trying not to flinch under his cold touch.

"Chloe, they said it was something Emily and her sister were starting. Some new tradition of having children named with "CL-" sound," he explains calmly.

"Are they alone there?" I ask, slightly worried.

"No. Leah and Seth are still there along with her sister and her parents along with Sam's, and last I checked Kim and Jared and Rachel and Paul went down to see them. She also asked for Esme and Rosalie but...Rosalie and Emmett are still away. Emmett sent me a text message an hour ago to let me know she was fine. But I know them. If they aren't here now there is still so much more wrong," Carlisle sighs.

I shift uncomfortably under his fingers. He's touching places and when he does the stiffness spreads as if to meet him. My body feels like it's moving and acting by itself. It feels like I have no control left, "Is she really afraid to see anyone who hasn't imprinted yet?"

"No. She admitted on the car ride that she only said those things to make the members of the pack feel guilty for how they have treated us. I told her she didn't have to do that but she insists that the only way we can survive this is if we're in it together, especially since Sam will be indisposed of," with the smallest smile he adds, "she's forcing Sam out of this fight."

"And he's just going to...step aside?" I ask, confused. For as long as I have known Sam he has been the ones getting things done. Taking care of business. Calling the shots. Not having him here...feels almost impossible.

"There's something far more important for him to take care of," Carlisle sighs as he pulls his hands away. It is now that I see his face begin to get worried, "Bella...how many times have you and Jacob acted sexually?"

My face has turned scarlet. How can Carlisle ask me that question with such a plain face? I look away and answer, "Before...? Maybe...once a week at least...but we always used protection."

"And what about with Edward?"

His voice isn't accusing. It's flat and maybe that's why it's so easy for me to add some kind of conotation to it. I shake my head, unable to look at him as I whisper,"No...no protection."

"How many times did Jacob rape you Bella?"

"Twice."

"He didn't use protection, correct?"

"Yeah."

Silence.

I look to Carlisle but his face is stone and that worries me. I look down at my bare stomach and touch the spot beside Carlisle's hand. It's hard and soft at the same time. It feels like a foreign body has taken up residence in my skin. I know what he is trying to determine and I know the answer that has come to mind but I can't believe it. I can't be pregnant. And if I am...is he trying to decide who the father is? Edward is dead...he can't have children...right? Is it even possible?

"I'm going to run some blood tests, Bella, but I'm not concerned. I'm sure it's nothing we can't fix," he says again as he pulls away from me and turns around to go get his supplies. Nothing we can't fix.

I look down at my stomach and touch it. There's a bump that wasn't there this morning...there's a bump that wasn't there an hour ago. There's a small bump that I'm just notcing. Is it me? Am I seeing things? It's tender and it's hard. Hard like stone. Like I've swallowed a rock and it's just sitting in my abdomin waiting to be passed through my small intestine. I place my hands over it and connect them as I wait. Nothing we can fix. Does he mean to take this away?

"I'm just going to draw some blood now. Don't look, Bella."

But I'm not looking. I'm looking at my womb. Kim said she didn't want to be a baby making machine and here Emily just had a baby and Rachel was pregnant with hers. What about me? Where did I fall down the line? Is that what he wanted? My broken Jacob...my anti-Jacob. Is that all he wanted of me? Is that why he...? Did he know before any one else what Edward had done? Did he want to join in on the game? He said he'd only keep me so that he could impregnate me with his children...did he already know? Did he already succeed?

"It shouldn't take to long for the results but in the mean time you can go ahead and get some rest. It's been a long day. If you would like I can call Alice and Jasper to stay with you."

"Yeah...I want to see them...where have they been all night?"

"Here," Alice appears in the doorway with Jasper beside her. His arms are drapped around her, holding her against him as if he will never let go. There's something odd about them now. There's something that has been done to them. There's something that Jacob did.

"Wonderful, can you please take her somewhere to get some rest?"

"Sure. We have a bed in our room that we've recently installed. It's very comfortable, I designed it myself," she smiles softly. I realize now the trouble. She isn't gripping her head in pain. She's back to her old self.

I stand up slowly but am dizzied again. She's at my side with Jasper at hers, "Not too quickly, we don't want you to tire yourself out before we get to bed."

"Of course not," I sigh as I lean into her and Jasper's aid.

"Bella...those clothes...we have to do something about your "bum-wear." I understand you are going through a tramatic life experience but there's no way you can look like that and get away with it."

I can't help but to smile. She is back to herself. But in their room everything is completely different. Alice guides me to the bed and kneels in front of me, her features becoming desperate and frightened. She holds onto my wrists so tightly, tighter than any vampire has held them before, "Alice...you're hurting me."

"Bella please..." she whispers in a voice so quiet I almost can't hear it. She looks into my eyes, deep into them, and whispers, "Jacob did something to me and now...now I can see everything...Bella please...at the end of this...at the end you're going to die."

Die. Me. Somehow I already guessed that one. But still, there were three things I was certain off as her words sunk into me: 1. They were true and I was definitely, finally, going to parish. 2. There was nothing I could do to stop it. and 3. She was going to break my wrist if she didn't let go.

"Alice, my arm," I say calmly and her grip slowly loosens. She looks backwards to Jasper for some kind of support that he gives her and she turns back to me. Expectant. Waiting for something. I look into her golden eyes and answer her unspoken question with, "I'm pregnant."

Her eyes shut with despair as she whispers, "I know, Bella...which is why we _HAVE_ to leave. We have to go now. We already have everything prepared for our departure. We have your clothes and your belongings and we'll get the rest once we are far away from this place."

"I can't go...When Jacob wakes...he'll...he'll come looking for me and everyone's going to be at risk...Kim...Rachel! Th-They can't stand against him..." I'm trying to whisper but the more I think about it the more I see them getting injured and it being all my fault.

"Bella...They're fine. They are not in danger. You are. Jacob still needs to recover. Carlisle estimated it will take three days for him to get back to his full strength. We just need to leave until then, to figure everything out," The more she speaks the more I fall deeper into her assurance. It's hard to say no, especially when she looks down at my stomach and whispers, "He's not the only one we have to worry about."

"...Three days?" I ask, still hesitant.

She nods, somehow finding the will to smile as she stands and takes my hand, "Three days."

Jasper is beside us instantly, offering his hand to me, "Miss Swan. If you don't mind."

"I'm Black now," I correct as I take his hand and he gently guides me onto his back.

They exchange a look I can't see but he corrects himself, "Miss Black."

"Mrs." I correct again.

Softly he relents, "Mrs. Black."

And then we're at the window and finally we leave.


	17. Chapter 17

**Edward's POV**

It had been all day since I had last seen her. Bella. Although she was being wounded and personally victimized I couldn't help but to feel a sick joy from how this life she had picked turned. Since our union-was it last week? Or the week before? I wasn't sure-had ended so abruptly with her feelings still wound tight around Jacob I was positive that was it for us. But now. Now that everything was ruined and Jacob appeared to have no hope of return I slowly allowed myself to think...maybe...maybe there was still hope.

But no.

Those thoughts were disturbing. I had agreed to allow her the choice. And even if she still loved Jacob. I would support her. And it wasn't as if I didn't hope for Jacob's return. I recall the tent shared with him, Bella, and I and how deeply I did dive into his inner workings. The Jacob Black from so long ago could never hurt an innocent being, let alone Bella Swan. Plus our brief conversation from not too long ago. While his being slept and I tiptoed the idea into his mind his dream-self looked in my direction and seemed to nod its head. That was proof, wasn't it? There was a chance for him to return.

But still.

I want Bella. And there is nothing I can do to deny that.

I shut my eyes as the conversation flows around me and the dinner table that has never been used. The wolves-I should stop calling them that-swallow Esme's food and beg for more as they discuss the current events. The bigger boys still left give Collin and Brady kudos for their defence against Jacob. Slowly they begin to heal from the most tramatic fight of their life.

Quietly I pick through their thoughts and their memories for the images of Bella. I create a collage for myself. Of course I cut Jacob out of these pictures and the more I work the easier it becomes. There is her in a bikini. There is her smiling for pictures she used to hate. There is her on Jacob's birthday. There is her in her wedding dress...something Alice would never agree to but something that was...that is completely Bella. There is her pushing the cake onto his face. There is her laughing shyly as he wraps his arms around her waist to pull her away from a conversation. There is her looking up at him and deeply into his eyes as he whispers something in a far away conversation. There is her soaking up his warmth to dry off from a swim. There is her standing confidently in the conversation between Embry and herself about which is better: Pepsi or Coke. There is her and Jacob whispering an arguement in the corner of a party. There is her with her arms over her chest as Jacob apologizes for her behavior.

And then, suddenly, there are my own memories seeping in.

There is us laying her bed while Charlie slumbered. There is her running through the crowde of crimson hoods to save me. There is her defiantly asking permission from my family to be turned into one of us. There is her with her broken leg at prom. There is the taste of her blood, still delicious, inside of my mouth. There is her standing in the forest as I whisper my last goodbye. There is her clinging to my side as we visit her mother and she observes us. There is Bella...my Bella...sleeping peacefully with her fists full of my clothing, begging me not to leave. There is Bella among the others on her first day of school, in that cafeteria, when I thought she was just a normal girl. There is Bella, my Bella, asking me for her last human experience that she was unable to give up.

Where was my Bella? Was this new Bella happy? Was she happy?

An anger flows inside of me like constant ocean waves and the images of her smiling and laughing in my memories and theres confuse me. Who was she happy with? Who did she love the most? It isn't fair. I would never do this to her. NEVER. But still. I gave her the choice. But was it the right own? Obviously not. Obviously she was wrong. Or was she? There memories confuse me. They only paint one side of the picture. I NEED Bella's memories of him. I NEED his memories of her. I NEED to be the fly on the wall of their bedroom to observe how she grips and grabs at him for his comfort. I need to see if he could soothe her like I could. I need to see if he could make her laugh. I need to know if she missed me. Even a little. I need to see if she thought of me as I tried so desperately not to think of her. Maybe I was selfish in my mourning. I need to know how long she cried for me, if she cried at all. I need to know if our love was as real as I believe it still is today. I need to know...even if she loves him more...I need to know if she loved me at all. If she loves me even a fraction of how she said she did.

Is he worth i-

"Ed..."

The voice belongs to Quil and it forces me out of their minds. The way they look at me around the table it is as if they could feel me dividing their membranes. But that is impossible. As I relax under their gaze I realize I had been gripping the table so tight chunks of splinters sat in my fists. I realize that I must have been thinking so deeply they must have heard and saw every last detail. Esme stands with her back to me and her arms around herself. Embry stands beside her with his hand on her shoulder and his head cast low. The others don't look me in the eyes.

Their thoughts are a mixture of guilt and compassion for my loss. I hadn't intended for them to know that I still love, adore, worship her but now that they know they hate themselves for being so cruel to me. Cruel to us. They hadn't known that when vampires mate...they mate for life. They didn't know anything was left for me now. Somehow...there is the faintest whisper of a thought _, "Selfish."_ But it is gone. I don't know who thinks who is selfish. Am I selfish...or is he? Are we both?

"Quil?"

It's Embry now and suddenly all eyes are on him. His muscles twitch and spasm and his jaw is clenched tight and his body shakes as if he is about to transform. Tears are in his eyes and his thoughts are a tangle of _No...No...She...she would never...no...I just...I can't..._ It is Claire. It is the very reason we had begun to blossom a friendship. Of all the wolves his mind was the most pleasant to share because all his thoughts were of childish things to share with his child-love. But now. Now my own horror had given him the doubts. Would Claire ever leave him? What would he do? Could he survive?

"I have to c-call her...Can I have a phone? Please!" He was frantic and Esme understood. In his hand she places the Cullen home phone and he jumps from the seat to dial. His pacing shakes the whole house. We can hear from the other room, "Hey Seth...where are you guys?...Can I come?...I know. I know what I said but...she's crying?...Put her on the phone!...It's serious...I'm not being weird! You don't understand...where are you?...Visiting hours are over?...Wait...Why is she crying? I'm coming...I'll explain later...Just put her on the pho-...Hey Claire-Bear...Noooo Quillies not mad...Psh! I didn't fall down and last time you pushed me!...No...why are you crying?...No, I wont forget you...We can BOTH play with the new baby...They forgot your toy? No!...Of course I'll go get it...I'll bring it before you wake up!...I love you too Claire-Bear..I'll see you soon...Shut up Seth...You don't understand...Fine! They don't have to see me!...I'm still coming! Bye!"

The remaining wolves look away in disgust. It is only Collin, Brady, and Embry here and none of them can understand his love. No one does. He returns into the room and hands the phone to Esme, his shaking has vanished. He smiles sheepishly as Esme asks, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah...I just got a bit carried away, sorry Es...Edward..." he looks down before looking back at us, "I'm gonna jet, I'll be back in the morning."

"Be careful," Esme smiles.

He nods as Collin and Brady mumble, "Bye!"

Embry looks toward Quil with a mysterious look but his mind says _I'm losing everyone. _

"Esme?" Brady asks as he wipes his mouth with his hand, "Can we watch tv in the livingroom? Loiter Squad is on."

Collin nods his head eagerly, "Yeah! Can we please?"

"Of course," she smiles. She looks to me and Embry, "Will you both be joining us?"

I shake my head, "No. I'm going to assist Carlisle."

Embry shakes his head as well, "I'm going to go for a run and clear my head."

"Be careful, boys," she smiles. We nod our heads and leave.

Somehow I find joy in the fact that Esme's family has grown and continues to grow as the hours trickle by. She would never admit that my heartache has lead to this gift but in her mind it is a new hope. It is a chance for a new beginning for all of us. It is a chance for a new life. But still...I cannot be that optimistic.

_Impossible...impossible...I don't understand..._

"What is it Carlisle?" I ask calmly as I enter his steady. The sofa has been pulled back which means someone had been laying on it. Presumably Bella. I can smell her fading scent attached to the cushions. I sit on it and feel her invisible embrace.

"Nothing we can't fix," he sighs and I know something terrible has occured.

I stand to my feet and peak over his shoulder at the research he is conducting. I can't understand why he searches pregnancies in his old medical books or on his lap top or on his iPad but most importantly I can't understand why he researches vampire lore on his desktop. None of this is making any sense. We are vampires. Why would he have to research myths of our own kind?

"Edward...please?" he's trying hard to block his thoughts but he is not as strong as Alice and Jasper. He is too open for that. It is no effort to get through his block and see Bella laying on the sofa with her stomach uncovered and the unwelcomed bump residing in her abdomin. Of all the times I had seen her that bump has never been there. How could it have gone unnoticed? The clothing. So easily such a small thing has hid.

"Is she...my?" suddenly the research he has accumulated fills my brain and combines with the lore of vampire man and human woman consumating their "love" and creating a monster child. Is that what this is? Is that what Bella has become? "Where is she Carlisle? I have to see her?"

"Edward...I don't want to frighten her. She already has enough worries, this just might send her over the edge," he pleas.

"I have to see for myself," I counter.

"She left an hour ago with Jasper and Alice to their bedroom. I asked them to escort her so that she may rest," he sighs, running his fingers through his hair.

But something is wrong. I take in a deep breath of our home and feel a deep chill inside of my body. Bella isn't here. My eyes jump to Carlisle and he immediatley senses my alarm. I grip onto his arm because the ground from beneath me feels as though it may burst into flames, "Carlisle...she's gone."


	18. Chapter 18

**Bella's POV**

_"Novacane, novacane, novacane. Numb the pain, numb the pain, numb the pain. Novacane, novacane. For the pain, for the pain."_

In the backseat of the car I watch Alice as she sings every song on someone's iPod three octaves higher than they are meant to be. Was it Embry or Paul that used to sing this song all the time? I wasn't sure. But either way their voice was nothing compared to Alice's. It was humorous and awing to watch her sing so beautifully a song I would never in a million years imagine a Cullen singing. With her hand in Jasper's, looking out the passenger-side window, she looked like a child that was way too excited for a road trip. She was moving a million miles a minute. Her eyes on the scenory, her fingers stroking Jasper's, her voice singing, her free hand constantly drawing pictures I couldn't see from so far away. Alice was never dull.

The song ended and on came an instrumental I didn't find familiar. She hummed the song but her angelic voice wasn't being imployed. I took this time to look out my window as well. Outside was a series of desert and cactus, much like my Pheonix, Arizona but so very different. I look down at myself and realize why Alice has dressed me up the way she has-in a nice sundress the color of soft yellow flower petals, as she described it. But the air conditioning is on and I have to hide under a thicket of blankets with my arms circling my stomach. It has grown larger...frighteningly so. The bulge has become hard like vampire skin and if it weren't for Jasper's calming I would be terrified. But I wasn't.

Not being so terrified allowed me to observe the bulging objectively. It was hard like vampire skin but when I touched it it was tender like Rachel's stomach and the way Emily's had been. Of course this was different. I appeared to be three months pregnant when it had only been two days since I had first found out or suspected this. Everything was moving so fast. But Alice and Jasper hardly spoke of it, which made things easier. All we did was stop at hotels or fast food resteraunts.

The only other change in my body was my constant hunger that ranged from normal to completely crazy. Sometimes I'd ache for chicken fingers...sometimes I'd ache for liver...raw...but that was normal, said the waitresses. One waitress told me she ate raw hamburger meat one a weak for ten months and now her son is 6 feet tall and plays football in college. People were so nice on the open road. But still...I ached for my green and snowy home.

_"I know places we can go...babe..."_

Alice's soft voice cut through my thoughts like a gentle blade. Like a siren her voice enchanted me. I could do nothing but listen.

_"I know places we can go...babe...The high won't fade here...babe..No, the high won't hurt here...babe."_

Her voice reached a new level of height. So gentle, it was lulling me into the sweetest acceptance. What was it about Jasper and Alice that made things...that made everything so...pleasant?

_"I know places we can go...babe..."_

Jasper. His voice was suddenly present and I was so shocked but all I could do was listen to it's deepness compliment her high. How odd to hear him sing, but still...so pleasant.

_"I know places we can go...babe...where the highs won't bring you down, babe. No the highs won't hurt you there babe. Don't ask me when, but ask me why. Don't ask me how, but ask me where. There is a road, there is a way. There is a place, there is a place."_

In the middle of her singing she turns to him. His eyes are still on the road and he continues to sing but there is no doubt he knows she is watching. There is the ghost of a smile on the corner of his lips.

_"I know places we can go...babe...Comin' home, come unfold, babe. And the high won't fade here, babe. No the high won't hurt here, babe."_

There is the softest push against my hand but I neglect it as I watch him turn to her. It's the same kind of driving Edward was prone to. Recklace driving, staring into the eyes of someone you love.

_" So come laaaaaaaaaaaay heere. And waaaaaaaaaaait. Now won't you laaaaaaaaaaaaay. And waiiiiiit...wait on me."_

His eyes pull away from her but she continues to stare at him as she sings the last verse alone.

_"I know places we can go babe. Come on home, come unfold, babe. I know places we can go, babe. Come on home, come unfold, babe."_

Her eyes are still on him and my eyes are still on her as I feel another gentle push. I look down at myself, at my belly, and caresses it through my dress into stillness. Both my hands rest on opposite sides and it is here that I feel a push in both of palms...how could that be? Was there more than one?

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Alice's voice breaks into my thoughts. It sounds so different from her singing.

"I don't know the father...I can't make a decision," I say softly as keep my eyes on the belly, trying to determine if what I had felt was real.

"It's growing at such a rapid pace...it must be Edward's," Jasper observes.

"I don't know...in the future...which is looking better! I see Rosalie in and Emmett in La Push...it could be Jacob's. Here," she smiles as she hands me some of her drawings. There, in fact, is a picture of Rosalie and Emmett in front of my home in La Push. There is also a picture of Big Ben, what appears to be my mother's house, Charlie holding something, the Cullen home completely destroyed, Edward sitting at a piano, and last but not least me with my eyes closed. I don't know what to make of any of the pictures. But it makes me afraid and hopeful at the same time.

"Well...if it's Jacob's...and it's a boy...I'll name him J.J...as in Jacob Junior...and if it is Edward's...I don't know...I'll name him...Mason...," the names come out of my mouth before I have time to really think about them.

Before I can revise them Alice nods joyfully, "Those names are so beautiful! But what if it's a girl?"

"If it's a girl...if it's Jacob's girl...I was thinking Sarah but Rachel is already naming her daughter that...Well...Charlie said that before him and my mother came up with my name they were going to name me Marley...I think that might be nice...," I answer.

"Isn't Marley the dog that dies?" Jasper asks. Alice hits his shoulder and he frowns, "What? You and Rosalie made me watch that movie."

"To convince you that we should get a dog!" she counters.

"I still hold to it that if we got a dog we would kill it," he snaps back.

"Jasper!" I shout in shock. He looks at the road sheepishly and Alice stares at him with a scowl.

"I would never allow you to eat my dog," she says with a set jaw.

He smiles, "How could you stop me?"

"Not in front of Bella," she huffs before turning to me, "What if it's Edward's daughter?"

"Well...I have this idea...that...if it were Edward's daughter...I would name her Renesmee...after my mother and Esme," I answer with a little nervousness.

Alice nods her head, looking off a little far away, "That sounds just lovely."

"I'm not too certain about that," Jasper quickly says as if to cross out the name before it is set.

"It's not our choice, Jasper, it's Bella's," Alice simply smiles before giving me a wink. She frowns a little before looking at my stomach, "But I do think it is Edward's...it's growing so fast."

"It is...but I'm not convinced...I look like a normal pregnant woman...if it was a vampire baby inside of me...wouldn't I look differently? Plus...I'm not entirely convinced there is only one..." I'm speaking out loud with my hands still on my stomach. During the name conversation there was a commotion inside, they were moving around. There is definitely more than one, "Can we go back now? Can we see Carlisle again?"

"I don't know, Bella...I don't feel safe going back yet," Alice sighs, looking to Jasper as if for assistance.

"But...what if I have the baby?" I ask quietly.

"You don't look like you're going to have the baby, Bella," Alice smiles softly, "Did you see how big Emily was? You're no where near that size. Plus if there's _two_ you'll need to be even _BIGGER_. You hardly look four months pregnant."

"But...what about Jacob?"

My thoughts were never far from him although the further I did get the better and stronger I felt. I realize now that nothing was my fault and it was the wildman completely. I did nothing wrong to stir him. But still...still the further we got the more I loved my old Jacob and wanted him back desperately. I was still afraid of the wildman but I feared more for the soul of my Jacob and the possibility that he may never return to me again.

"Bella...I'm sorry...but I don't think Jacob will ever return," Alice's words are heart breaking. She is always right. But I can't believe it.

"No," my voice is strong and somehow the babies in my stomach make me stronger, "I refuse to believe that. My Jacob is **in there. **I saw him and he spoke to me and he apologized and he told me to run. He is in there somewhere and I **BELIEVE** we can get him out. I believe he can win."

There is silence and my words hang in there air. My stomach is filled with a growl that demands more food. Jasper makes a sudden U-Turn but I am strapped into the backseat so I don't go flying. A soft smile fills my face as we begin to go home. Alice sighs sadly and asks, "Where would you like to eat?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Rosalie's POV**

_"Let's leave. Carlisle said Alice and Jasper left with Bella two days ago. That means we can go. That means we don't have to stay here."_

Emmett.

His voice is gentle, caring, the ghost of a whisper as his lips travel in soft kisses over my shoulder and my arm with a terrible tenderness that I hate so much.

But how can I reply?

My own lips are numb from the continual movement of my features and my voice is stuck in my throat, terrified by how it may sound.

He shifts uncomfortably with his arms around me, as if there can be any comfort.

But I know what he's trying to do.

It has been days since we had gazed into each other's eyes, mini versions of eternity stuck with my back to his chest and his face turned downward.

The last time I had seen his frightened eyes I had been screaming for him to pull off my head and fix my face, to fix me, but of course he could not, he would not, and he did not.

He said my body would fix it. Eventually. On it's own.

He rubbed the ruble that was my beauty and told me he loved me-my heart, my soul, my mind, my attitude-and nothing would change that and that I was still an angel, his gorgeous angel. Even if I didn't think so.

Maybe he was right. In my panic I had shoved all my pieces together and took what I needed and left what I didn't. My breasts had found me in this time and my face had yet to stop moving.

But still.

I was a monster.

But without his help it was left to my body to take control of what Jacob had done to me.

And so it has, very, very slowly.

But still again.

Emmett had already seen me at my worst. I didn't want to put him through the trauma of watching my transformation. And I was transforming. Every now and then I would touch my features and feel them back to where I remembered. Every now and then Emmett's arms would tighten around me and I would feel almost complete. The changes in my face were bare minimum now. Hardly painful. But what was left? There was still something missing.

_"He said we could go. Carlisle said we could leave. We could take a break. We can go to Esme's Isle...you like that place don't you?"_

I did.

When I could strut down the beach with him watching, waiting, and stalking me as I pretended to be upset with him. When every now and then I would see a sea shell and have to bend over seductively to pick it up. When I could see him from the corner of my eyes pleasuring himself as he watched me. When I was his goddess...not now...now that I'm breakable glass.

_"Rosie...please? Talk to me?"_

I couldn't. The more he tried coaxing me out of myself the angrier I got. I wasn't his child to take care of.

I _**WAS**_ two years older than him.

I _**HAD**_ found him and saved his life.

I _**DID**_ defeat Jacob.

_**Without **_his help.

And hardly with the help of the others. They were all distractions. I had done everything. I was still strong...even if he did think I was weak...I was strong...I was very strong. I was very strong indeed.

_"Rosalie?"_

"SHUT. UP."

_"Rose?"_

"STOP. SPEAKING. TO. ME. IN. THAT. MANNER."

His arms fade as my anger increases. I feel him awaken in his movements and the snow that had accumulated over us is now raining down on me as he sits up. His hand reaches out to grab for mine but I pull away, diving deeper into the snow bank, but to my surprise he grabs my shoulder and yanks me from my position with such fierceness I can't pull away. Like a ragdoll he props me up to sit but I turn my face away.

"Leave me alone!"

"Rosalie!"

His voice. It isn't the whispering I had been forced to endure in my recovery. I peak up tentatively at his face and it is strong and it is defiant and it is very enraged. My eyes go back downward.

"Look at me!"

He grabs for my face but I smack his hand away harshly. So harshly he pulls it away. My face. How dare he dictate what I am to do with MY face.

"That's it! I've had enough of this. All I've been doing is trying to comfort you and yet my only answer in DAYS is 'Shut up'? 'Stop speaking to me in that manner'? 'Leave me alone'? That isn't FAIR! I've been here trying to conso-"

"I DON'T NEED CONSOLING!" I scream as I push him away from me. "I DON'T NEED YOU COOING AT ME AS IF I AM A CHILD WITH A BOO-BOO! YOU ARE NOT MY FATH-"

"I'M YOUR HUSBAND!"

My jaw is set in its defiance but I can't deny the shiver of fear that is rolling down my spine. His tone has only been set that way in regards to me upon few occasions but then he was yelling to defend something he had done or to convince me that he was no good for me. It was never like this.

"I AM YOUR HUSBAND AND **YOU** CAN'T TREAT ME LIKE SOME UNEDUCATED GRANDFATHER! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU! I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH AND I'M SORRY! I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE PRO-"

"SHUT UP!"

My hands cover his mouth and a growl is emminating through each word I speak.

"SHUT UP! YOU WEREN'T THERE! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! I DID IT! OKAY! I STOPPED HIM! I DEFEATED JACOB ON MY OWN! I PROTECTED THE WOMEN! I SAVED BELLA! I SAVED SETH! _**I**_ DID! ON MY OWN! WITHOUT YOU AND WITHOUT ANYONE ELSE! I DID THAT! YES! I'M INJURED AND YES I'M UGLY BUT I DID IT! I'M STILL STRONG! I CAN STILL DO _**ANYTHING!"**_

At that word his mouth rips through my fingertips and lands on mine, pushing me backwards into the snow bank. His mouth is fierce and hard as if he is trying to tear my lips apart from my face but I'm not afraid. I kiss him back in the same manner and the loud noises that form from our crashing are nothing compared to the screams that escape our throats as we reduce clothing to pieces and we grab and bite and scratch and dominate each other with an unyielding need to control each other's limbs.

Our sex has turned from a fun and playful action to one that is strong and urgent and desperate and angry. But, boy, oh, boy, is it sexy. There is no gentle kissing or soft whispering here as I pull him by his hair and he grabs me by my chin. There's no hushing and promising as we swear with our bones making thunder in the white winter sky. It is as if I am being murdered, but the sweet pleasure of death is nothing compared to the satisfaction only Emmett can bring me. NOTHING.

In between our break-because we are only allowed seconds to really speak and to allow me to let out my giggles when something has begun-he kisses the back of my neck deeply, still holding me tight as he hisses, "I know you can do anything, I never doubted you."

I spin around, still giggling, and pin him to the ground. I hold him tightly as if he were an enemy that I must defeat but instead I forcefully declare, "And you _**NEVER**_ will."

It's all I can make out before he is back on top of me.


	20. Chapter 20

**Edward's POV**

"Can someone PLEASE go tell them to stop?" Leah's voice falls above the clatter like a piercing shriek.

"How long has it been?" Quil asks in complete confusion, trying not to scream but not being able to be heard in any other way.

"It's been three damn days!" Embry grumbles, trying to shove his head between his palms.

"Three?" Seth shouts in amazement.

"Yes! I've been calculating! It's been three days!" Kim confirms, with her hands over her ears and Jared's hands over her own.

"That's impossible! Even for a vampire! That's impossible!" Quil snaps, looking around to me and Esme and Carlisle a nod.

"I'm on edge here! I'm gonna lose it!" Leah screams, banging her head upon the table.

"But really! That's impossible!" Quil says, giving himself the confirmation us vampires will not.

"Someone should really tell them to stop!" Rachel yells, in the same position as Kim with Paul's hands over her own.

"AND they're not bored? How is that possible?" Quil is speaking to himself now, shouting questions no one will answer.

"I'm gonna snap!" Leah screams again.

"It's possible, how do you think this bundle of joy came to be?" Paul smirks, addressing Quil's random shouts.

Rachel pulls her hand away and elbow's Paul behind her as she snaps, "Paul!"

"Can someone PLEASE tell them to stop? Please! I don't know how you guys deal with them!" Leah says, for the first time speaking directly to one of us.

"The poor town's folk!" Quil says in disbelief, shaking his head.

"Town's folk? What about us? Where are Collin and Brady?" Now Leah is filled with concern. She looks around and this is when I must step in.

"I believe they went to get a look at the two themselves," I answer, keeping calm and composed but still speaking in a tone they can comprehende.

"Those little bastards! I HATE kids!" Leah yells as she wips open the sliding glass doors and morphs into wolf form to go after them.

Carlisle and Esme look uncomfortable, as they always are when Rosalie and Emmett get into these fits-it is the very reason they have been ejected from the Cullen home on numerous occasions-but we still find their reactions amusing. Some of their minds peak with interest, Paul and Jared for one, Collin and Brady for two. Some other minds feel nothing but slight annoyance and discomfort, Rachel, myself, Carlisle, Esme, and Seth. Some like Kim and Embry feel...insecure about their own ability to perform in such a manner. Quil is on his own boat filled with complete curiousity with no ability to understand the actions. He had always thought vampires were silent creatures that were boring and lack luster but now...now he sees the side, the passion, that only few vampires actually love to flaunt.

Some sexual fantasies play out in the minds but those I attempt to avoid as best as I can. It is only when Leah returns, pulling the ears of Collin and Brady, that I am sucked into one. It began as a curious silence in Embry's mind that drew me into it but upon further investication I am lost in a labyrinth of secret passages that Embry had created to hide thoughts from his pack. It is in here that I find a sexual fantasy in which Embry is the head master of Rosalie, Leah, Kim, Alice, Esme, and Rachel who are all naughty school girls creating the same kind of chaos we are enveloped in. I have to eject myself from the ensuing events but I still find myself fasinated by his ability to create such a warehouse of secrets...from everyone.

"Next time you two escape I'm going to snap your necks like twigs!" Leah screams as they try to wiggle away.

"Aw, come on Leah, they're only kids," Embry sighs as he points to her and her visiousness.

"Just kids? They're perverts!" she shouts in anger, "Oh no! You're not getting away from me that easy!"

"Come on, Leah! Not everyone is a saint like you! You don't know what it's like to be a teenage boy!" Jared yells.

"So what? I should just let them run out there and watch them like it's some kind of...some kind of cheap pornography?" she continues to pull on their ears as they try with less and less success to escape.

"Well don't punish them for being curious! It's not a bad thing!" Embry snaps again, this time trying to pry her fingers off. She lets go of Collin to hit Embry but in this second both boys run, causing us to laugh.

Leah looks into Embry's eyes and screams, "I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!"

It is at that point that Rosalie and Emmett let out their final shriek of gratitude to one another and there is silence again. We all let out a breath and we relax slightly, thankful that they are complete. However, Esme, Carlisle, and I are still slightly on edge. We are aware that at any second they could begin all over again.

"That was a little harsh, Leah," Seth mumbles.

"What? You're siding with him?" She shouts in shock.

I look over what our kitchen has become, a living, breathing, eating thing and with disdain I see why it was so easy for Bella to choose these people. To choose this life over ours. We could never be this unpredictable...this fun. We could never have these kinds of fights that could erupt into physical violence but most likely will not. The chaos...it's so...enchanting. I also see how easy it was for Bella and Alice and Jasper to escape. At first we thought them to have deserted us in our time of need...but we realized quickly Alice was trying to prevent her visions. She was trying to save Bella's life. That was completely understandable.

"Hey guys."

We turn around and behind us is Emmett and Rosalie with a smirk that can only come from the actions they have committed for that amount of time. They are clothed now and we understand that they must have come home to change in order to return to society. We notice that Rosalie is completely back together, she is completely healed. Emmett has his smile again and his arm drapes over her shoulders as her arms wrap around his middle. Maybe it's the way they look or the way they smile or the way they are welcomed with complaints...but things appear to be looking better.

"Is that jealousy, big man, or is that just curiousity?" Emmett asks in reply to Embry's annoyance.

"Jealousy? What do I have to possibly be..."

It is in the middle of his sentence that Rosalie turns her face up and begins to deeply suck on Emmett's neck as if there were no one in the room to observe this. Embry rolls his eyes and many of them have to cover their's do to Leah's orders. She yells, "Why don't the both of you go soak in some cold water!"

Rosalie pulls her mouth away in order to smirk, "That sounds like a wonderful suggestion. Monkey-Man, are you coming?"

"I'm already there," he grins before he takes advantage of our vampire speed to run to the tub in their room.

Rosalie shakes her head with joy as she turns to us, "I'll tell him to be quiet."

She leaves and we are left in silence until we hear the sound of her giggling. Seth groans, "Thanks Leah! Now they're going to go at it again!"

"It's not my fault they hump like bunny rabbits! I thought you guys were supposed to be all proper and goody-goody," she snaps in our direction.

Carlisle uncomfortably answers, "Just as no two wolves are the same...no two vampires are the same. We often have to be subject to their...activities. We've tried many times to buy them homes of their own but..."

"They make it a habit of destroying them," Esme completes with dismay. Each one of her homes is a creation of her mind, a shame for them to break.

"Damn..I wish I had money like that,"Jared whistles as he lowers his arms to wrap around Kim's shoulders.

Carlisle nods his head sheepishly as he makes a mental note to find out the financial conditions of each person, "I have to say you should not take our wealth personal. We've had hundreds of years to acquire it all."

He makes a mental note to also donate to the reservation. Maybe start a scholarship and an internship in which some of the school children interested in medicine can learn with him. A discussion of what each person would do with their own personal fortune unfolds. It's the oddest thing to listen to them. It makes us all feel so...grateful. We are not only blessed with our strengths and our speed and our vampiric abilities but we are also blessed in our fortune, something we hardly consider.

"Hey, you guys have a piano!" Collin shouts from far away, "I love the piano!"

The sound of three blind mice begins to play and the group is seduced by the tune. Carlisle adds a music scholarship as well, maybe one for mechanics since Rosalie and I love to dabble with that so much. It is now that Rosalie and Emmett come out as well from their love boat to watch little Collin play songs he says his mother taught him. Rosalie and I make eye contact and I don't have to read her mind to know she thinks one of us should play. I nod my head and take the seat beside him on the stool.

"Do you want to learn how to play a song?" I ask him softly, not trying to upset him by taking over the floor. His hands fly from the piano and he nods his head eagerly, "Alright. I'm going to need you to hit this note on every fourth count and that note on every eight. I'll nod my head to signal you. I'll go slow so you can pick it up and when you feel that you have it I'll stop."

He nods his head with his eyes focused on the piano keys. It's been almost a year, maybe more, since I've touched a piano. It's been so long. But I can't relish in the time. Unlike vampires, humans cling to every prescious second. My hands go to the keys and I begin to play Bella's lullaby...my lullaby for Bella. It was the first thing to go with our break up. The old piano, the one we had for many years, I smashed with my fists upon reading the letter that read: Bella Swan would never be mine, ever again. She wrote it in just one letter. She wrote that she was sorry and that she loved me but that she couldn't take the unpredictablility of _us_ and that she loved me so much she couldn't take the thought that I would stop loving her, not again. So she picked Jacob and said she would learn to love him as much as he loved her and that their relationship was an adventure she longed to take part in. She no longer feared death and old age. She wanted a life with Charlie and without secrets she couldn't explain. She would always love me. But Jacob was her soulmate. She was choosing her day over her night. Her sun over her diamond.

_He has it._

Carisle's thought forced me to pay attention to the little hands beside mine. True, they did move rapidly up and down the piano accompaning mine but it was so hard to give it up-to give her up. My life, my love, my dream, my woman. It was so hard to lose her to him, to the little wolf. But I had to go. I allowed her the choice. And she didn't choose me. My hands slowly fell from the piano and it was I who was hitting the single notes at the fourth beat and eighth. And then it was I who was sitting and watching. And then it was I who stood from the stool and left.

My absence was hardly noticed, since the others are transfixed by little Collin's ability. True, he had picked it up faster than I had thought possible for a human of his age but I was learning quickly that even human's still held surprises. I wait at the open door to our home. At some point someone had thankfully opened it so that the smell could be flushed outward. It was almost funny now that we were all getting along the smell seemed to grow and morph into a combination of odd scents. Almost as if it were turning into something completely di-

"I still love that song."

How did I not smell her? My head turns in the direction of the voice and it is unmistakably Bella Swan...well...Black now. Her stomach is swallowen to a size that surpasses Rachel but her skin, her beauty, her eyes, her smile. She is glowing...she is radiant. At first glance it appears as though nothing has happened, but it has. She is pregnant with a child that must be mine from the unexpected growth. Five days...five days it only took for this.

"Don't look so surprised, Edward, what did you expect would happen when you don't use protection?" Jasper smirks as he grips my shoulder lovingly, amused by the shock he has gotten over with their long car ride. They were planning to go to Mexico to visit a vampire that would assist them in an abortion but Bella changed their mind in her very subtle and very glorious manner.

Bella looks down with her incredible blush but the scent that would have my mouth watering is gone. Instead it is the odd and awful mix I had witnessed earlier. Her hands hold onto her stomach as she refuses to meet my stare. But she looks so healthy...with that abomination growing inside of her...it isn't right. Jasper's hand falls away and he stands beside Bella in a protective manner she can't sense.

His mind declares _Don't, Edward. She is fine. Look at her. Do you believe Alice would allow her to keep this child if she thought it were harming her? _

I can't deny that logic. Alice jumps around Bella tucking this in and tying that. The dress she has dressed her in is beautiful, the color makes her already vibrant skin stand out against the eyes I love so much. I have to admit, she has yet to look so happy in my presence. Alice whispers in Bella's ear, "Don't mind him. He's in shock you're not in those drab sweats. Come on, let's go see the others."

But Bella stops in place and shakes her head, "No...I want to see Charlie first. Please?"

"Bella...," my voice is hardly noticable. I'm still breathless.

She looks up at me in the way she had before when I told her not to do something she already had the intention of doing, "I have to. I have to see him just once."

"What about-"

"What about him?" she snaps. It appears the road trip has had the same effect on Bella as the three day love affair on Rosalie. Her confidence is back. Her strength.

I lower my head and nod, "You're right."

I turn to join the others but she stops me, "Edward?"

The way she says my name, as if it's not a name at all but just an idea. As if I'm a figmant of her imagination. I stop and turn back to her, "Will you come with me?"

"To see Charlie?" I can't help but to smile, "He'll murder me if he thinks I did that to you."

Alice jumps between us with a grin, "Well you did help. Come on, Eddy, we haven't had a trip in so long. Just me, you, Bella, and Jasper. It will be nice."

I can't deny that. It would be nice. And it will give me a chance to get closer to the thing inside her womb. The nasty multiplying thing, "Fine."

The smile on their faces...it's as if Bella is manipulating our emotions. We are wrapped around her finger. There is no doubt in that.


	21. Chapter 21

**Bella's POV**

In the car Alice's joyful singing has been amplified into a concert. She sits beside me and rubs my stomach in gentle strokes as she kick's the back of Edward's seat to force him to join her. She makes Jasper go the long way to my old house, she makes him go slow. They sing to the songs on the iPod, Edward shy and Alice unapologetically, and I wonder how I had never had a chance to hear their duets before.

"Please, Edward! One more! Just one more!" Alice begs as she kicks Edward's chair gently.

"No, Alice. We are almost there," Edward protests softly with his eyes focused on the road.

"Jasper," Alice smiles and suddenly we are turning down another street at the heart of Forks. I can't help but to laugh as Edward and Jasper get into a mental battle and Alice grins triumphantly.

I wonder how I had never seen this version of the three. I wonder how I had never seen this version of Edward. All in the car, all together, they almost seem human with their manner of joking and teasing. This version of him is much different from the moping, wandering Edward I had seen through the corners of my eyes. This version of him is much different from the last I had left.

A new song rolls on through the speakers and before Edward can say no yet again Alice begins to sing another three octaves higher.

"_Waiting by the mailbox, by the train. Passing by the hills,'til I hear the name. Looking for a saw to cut the chains in half and all I want is someone to rely on this, thunder comes a roaring down, someone to rely on this, lightning comes a-staring in again."_

All through the verse Edward had been mumbling objections to Jasper but as soon as Alice finished he stopped and began to sting.

_"I'll wait to be forgiven, maybe I never will. My star has left me to take the bitter pill. That shattered feeling well the cause of its a lesson learned. Just don't know if I can roll into the sea again. Just don't know if I can do it all again, she said, 'it's true.'"_

As I listen to the words Edward sings I begin to feel a soft blush form against my cheeks. Alice strokes my stomach absently and I force myself to look down at her hand and not up and around the car.

_"Went into my room and I locked the door. Watched the colored animals cross the floor. But I look on from a distance and I'm listening to the whispers and oh it ain't the same when you've fallen outta feeling and you're rolling in and caught -a-aught again."_

Alice leans into me as she sings "ca-a-aught again," making sure to tickle me with only the faintest of pressures from her fingertips.

_"I'm caught again in the mystery. You're by my side, but are you still with me? The answers somewhere deep in it I'm sorry that you're feeling it, but I just love to tell you that I love you so much these days, have to tell you that I love you so much these days, have to tell you that I love you so much these days, it's true."_

As Alice plays with my stomach I can't help but to peak up at the rearview mirror and as I had suspected Edward's eyes are on me. Watching me as the words leave his mouth.

_"My heart is an economy, due to this autonomy rolling in and ca-a-a-aught again. Ca-a-a-aught again."_

The song finishes but they let out a last line together.

_"Ca-a-a-aught again."_

"We're here," Jasper smiles and my heart begins to beat so fast I can feel it jumping out of my chest. They turn to me and with concern Jazz asks, "Would you like me to help you calm down?"

I shake my head as I open the door, "No...I'm fine. Alice?"

She's by my side before her name leaves my mouth. She takes my arm and gingerly escorts me with Jasper at my other side. Edward trails behind as we slowly make our way up the steps of my old home, the home I had loved so much. Before we even reach the door it slams open and Jasper stiffens again with his uncomfortability in front of humans. There is no werewolf scent to protect my father, it's just him. But Edward takes the lead and Jasper steps backward to compose himself. My father doesn't have that luxury.

"B-Bells..." his eyes water with fright as he looks down at me with shock and despair. His eyes reach up to Alice's face and Edward's questioningly but all he can do is cover his mouth and shake his head, "Come...Come inside..."

He turns around but I am stuck in place. His shoulders are shaking as he walks into the kitchen but for some reason I can't follow him. I realize now that I have no explanation for him. I have no idea what to say. But instead of running Alice wraps her arms around my shoulders and guides me further inside, step by step.

She presses her lips to my ear and whispers in her quiet voice, "It's okay, Bella, we'll help you. He's just so happy to see you, he misses you. That's it."

It's her words that encourage me to enter but at the sight of Charlie attempting to make coffee with his shaking fingers I've lost my will again. He wipes his face and turns to Edward and Alice, "C-Can I have a second, alone, with my daughter?"

"Of course," Alice smiles as she lets go of my arm and turns but not before whispering, "Pretty smile."

Once they shut the door to the outside Charlie shouts, "Are you back with him again? Is thi- Is this what all this is about? The absence? Billy calling me left and right and Jacob sniffing around all the time? Is it because of them?"

"No!" I shout, feeling suddenly so uncomfortable and so desperate and helpless, "It's Jacob's! Alright! The Cullens have been helping me figure somethings out, dad! Just...Just calm down and let me explain!"

"Explain? Explain that the last time I saw you, you were as skinny as a toothpick and now look at you! Can you explain that?" his face is red and I'm shrinking away.

"Dad...Jacob...Jacob's been abusing me Daddy...the Cull-," the look on his face makes me crumble into tears and I can't continue.

"Jacob?" he asks in disbelief.

I set my jaw hard to get through the tears, to get everything out at once, "Yes! There's...there's something wrong with him and Dr. Cullen and Alice and Rachel and Paul and EVERYONE has been helping me to figure it out and has been helping me with this! Okay, dad! I haven't talked to you because...Because it just started getting physical recently and before then...I don't know...I didn't know who to tell..."

"That night...when he came storming here?" he can't look at me. He's not looking at my face but he looks so old. From one second to the next I've changed him so much.

I nod my head softly, pushing my tears away, "Yeah...it started then. But dad, listen to me, everything's going to be okay. I came here to tell you that. I came here to tell you that we're going to help Jacob and he's going to be okay, and you can tell Billy that too, in fact, go over there and talk to him. Don't be alone, don't be alone until all of this is blown over. Alright?"

He opens his mouth to speak but he stops and nods his head quietly, still unable to look at me. All I want is him to look at me but he can't even do that. He can't even stare at me, "Alright."

"Dad...what did you say about Jacob being here?" I ask softly, feeling myself begin to shake.

"I saw...I saw Jacob this morning walking past here...I tried to talk to him but by the time I went outside he was gone...That son of a bitch."

"No! Dad, it's not him! It's not! There's something **wrong** with him. It's not Jacob, alright. It's not my Jacob," I plead as I throw my arms around him because I know that look in his eyes. It's the same look Carlisle had when he stitched me up. It's the same look Alice gets when I talk about him. It means that they've stopped make excuses for him. It means that they blame themselves.

"Bella..." his voice is soft but I don't let go, I cling to him as he trembles, "Bella...there's...there's something wrong with your stomach Bella...it's hard as stone."

I pull back slightly and look down at it, "Yeah...it's...it's a condition that some women get in cases like mine. It'll fade by the time the baby is born. It's my skin...it's something the body does to protect the baby inside."

"One?" he asks, looking down at my stomach again.

"I don't know...maybe more," I say in the faintest tone I can use.

He looks up into my face finally and his arms reach forward and embrace me so tightly I feel I'm going to be crushed. But I melt into it. This is the one thing I've been missing. I've been missing his support and his protection, even though I know he can't protect me. His arms are strong castles that lock me inside like his little princess. No one can hurt me here. Not even my husband. Not even Jacob.

There is a knock on the door but I don't pull away. Alice calls in, "I'm sorry Bella but it's time for your appointment with Carlisle."

"You're not staying? Can I come?" Charlie asks in his voice that says he's crying but he's trying not to.

I shake my head softly, knowing the answer I'll get, knowing what they'll tell me. He wouldn't want to hear that, not at all. I smile softly, "It's something I have to do on my own. I think he's going to tell me the gender. I want everyone to be surprised."

His face still has that heartbroken tint to it. He feels weak. He feels like a failure, "Bella...Bella keep in touch with me...Bella please? Please...?"

I wipe at my eyes and smile, "Of course. I'll come by later tonight."

"Do you promise?" he asks, still holding onto me, not yet letting me go.

"I swear," I smile, leaning into his hug again.

"I'll get dinner," he smiles.

I nod my head, "Good, get a lot of it."

He helps me to the door and looks deep into each set of eyes waiting for me. I don't need to be a mind reader to know he's begging them to take care of me. I don't need to be a mind reader to know he's forcing them into submission. And they're accepting it.


	22. Chapter 22

**Edward's POV**

The music plays in the car, filling up the space that should be filled by conversation and laughter. But there is no laughter now. We had all heard Bella's promise to return to Charlie's home after we had heard about Jacob's arrival. For the time of Bella's disappearance Jacob had been a second thought, a fleating worry, but now...it was different. I peaked into his mind and saw the look of wild savagery on his features as he ran around in and out of the woods, searching for Bella. An uneasiness filled us at that second and now spreads around to fill the vehicle, we passively hope Bella will feel our worry and will change her mind for our sake. But it is Bella we're talking about. She doesn't do that.

_**Oh, little one, I know you've been tired for a long, long time.**_

"Bella...," it's Jasper's voice that pierces the music.

_**And, oh little one, I ain't been around for a little while.**_

"Yes, Jasper?" Bella asks with her soft smile and her eyes out the window.

_**But when you see me waaaaaave.**_

"Please, understand that what I say, I say with the respect and concern as a friend. Bella, I don't believe it would be a good idea for you to stay with Charlie for the evenning," Jasper's voice is timid and afraid, both things he should be. He had been thinking about speaking since we had gotten into the car but I never thought he would actually say anything. Poor Jasper, Bella's face has changed to frustration. She does not look pleased.

_**Oh little one, your hemingway jawline looks just like his.**_

"Jasper..."the name leaves her mouth softly but I know she's only building up momentum.

_**A father in exhile for, God only knows, how many years.**_

"No matter what, I'm going to stay with my father tonight, and that's that."

_**But when you see him waaaaaave, through double paaaanes.**_

"Bella.."It's Alice now, piggy-backing off of Jasper's strength.

_**I'll be with you lost boys, sneaking out where the shivers won't find you.**_

"You heard what Charlie said. He was there _this morning._ He's looking for you, he knows how you are. He was probably watching us as you spoke with Charlie a few minutes ago. It isn't safe, "she's pleading with her, but I know Bella. She won't listen.

"I don't care. I want to stay with my father and no one can stop me," she snaps. She's become defensive.

"Bella, please, listen," Alice is soft, hurt.

_**Oh little one I'll tell you good news that I don't believe,**_

"No, you listen. I'm tired of everyone ushering me around like a child!" there are tears in Bella's eyes.

_**if it would help you sleeeeeep**_

"I'm not going to let anyone run my life anymore!"

_**Strange meerrcyyy**_

"We're not trying to run your life, Bella, we only want you to be safe," Alice has turned around in the passanger-seat that she hides behind. "Think about Charlie, you know he's going to protect you and you know he can't."

"Jacob isn't going to do anything, not when I'm pregnant with his child," she says these words as if to spite me. 'I'm pregnant with _his_ child, not yours. Not with _your_ monster.' Maybe I'm over analyzing it. Maybe she doesn't mean that exactly. Maybe just _his _breed; not _ours._

"You don't know that, Bella, what if he attacks, believing that it's Edward's. What if it is Edward's? We don't know all the answers yet," Jasper is trying to reason with her but there is no reasoning with Bella Swan, Bella _Black._

_**If I ever meet the dirty police man who roughed you up, oh I, I don't know what.**_

"And what exactly are answers going to change? Jasper?" she's snapping, she's defensive.

_**If I ever meet the dirty police man who roughed you up**_

"Bella..." my voice is soft, attempting to remind her that we are friends and not enemies.

_**I'll be with you lost boys, sneaking out where the shivers won't find you**_

As the song ends I realize the oddest thing. I realize the song had been on the lowest setting. I realize that no one had been paying it the slightest attention, not in thought not in physicallity and I begin to hear a hum, a hum of unified brain activity.

"What? Why can't any of you see I just want my father!" she's crying now. Her tears are real and desperate and all she seeks is the comfort she found in the house we had spent many late nights confessing secrets no one on Earth else knows. Is it still me she is trying to find in that empty house? Or is it isolation from the hovering pack of animals trying to protect her?

But that's not the importance now.

As the song comes to a complete close I feel a sense of displeasure that I had yet to feel. As a new song begins I feel a sense of anxiety that needs to be nullified with the replaying of the song once again. But we are in the middle of a discussion, we can't focus on that...

_**Back...again...**_

The thoughts...

"Edward...? What's wrong?" Alice's voice is soft and frightened.

My eyes are glued to Bella's stomach, moving up and down as she cries silent tears. I lean forward and press my ear to the quivering mass. In a strong voice I ask, "Repeat that request."

And sure enough they do.

_**Song, again.**_

I look up to them but they are afraid of me. They haven't heard it. They have yet to identify the distinctly unified thoughts, similar to the pack in the feel of how rounded up they sound. How many are there? Who do they belong to? Are they trying to control us? Are they a threat?

_**Three...the other two are quiet but I keep them awake and developing. They are so small...I keep them growing...I want to be out but I want them with me...They are too small...**_

"How do you know so much?" I ask in a calmer voice although my body feels a sense of terror I have never felt flush through my bones.

_**You...and the music. When ever you are near...when ever you are close we hear everything...and the music speaks to us, they like the music very much. We like to sing to it. That is when they feel alive.**_

"Are you trying to hurt, Bella?" I ask, my voice starting to quiver.

_**We love her. We want to protect her. I'm starving myself for her. I'm so hungry...I'm so hungry but I love her...We love her. I'm going to wait.**_

"How small are they?" the more this thing speaks to me the more I want it out of Bella's womb. The hunger in it's voice. I know it's mine. I know it's my son.

_**Too small...too small...I'm trying to make them bigger...but I'm so hungry...I'm so hungry...**_

"We're going to help you, we're going to help you today," I say with a strong voice that I feel them react to. I know instantly that it is my son growing and pulling the strings of the minds growing beside him. I know that Jacob's other two, developing at a normal rate, are keeping him chained inside of Bella's body. But I also know that he can't stay in there for long. I know he means well...but I know that won't last very long.

I pull my head away and Bella's frightened eyes meet mine. Softly she whispers, "What did he say?"

I look to Alice and Jasper and let the one thing I know will stick with them out: _He's hungry. _


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello, I know this is kind of confusing but it would be easier to read the Alpha's thoughts all at once and Jacob's all at once after...or before. But yeah. This chapter explains where Jake has been all those months.**

**Jacob's POV**

**In Tahi-Aki's spiritual ground I wait and absorb the magic that remains. The magic runs through my bones and makes me stronger and stronger and stronger than any Alpha that has ever existed before. I am no longer the Alpha, I am the god. It had been my sole occupation since I had uncovered it two months back. On our last "pack" meeting with Embry we stumbled upon this deserted sacred clearing and it spoke to me at once. "Take me in" it said. "Take me in bite by bite." And I have listened. **

Bella...

**Another woman?**

We talked about having children and it was something she wanted to wait to have. She was only eighteen, turning nineteen...turning nineteen soon...three days soon, and I had just turned eighteen. We were too young, she thought, and she was right. What would have happened if we had children now? Not even children, only just a child we could manage to pop out. One boy or one girl just a few months old. What would happen to them? Could they even remember this?

**That whore wished. Another woman would be easier for her lechorous mind. It would ease the guilt she so accumulated. She could blame me for her choice to fuck Cullen. She could blame my "cheating" on her slip of the mind. Just like a woman. Just like a cunt. I still had no clue what he saw in her, the other guy. **

Last I had seen she was huge, like she swallowed a blimp. I new that Edward's child was there. It wasn't hard to determine. Normal babies, even wolf babies, don't grow that fast. But mine had to be in there too. I could see it in the way she looked, defiant like wolf mother's get when they are so close to birth. They get strong and fierce and forceful and controling and just and righteous-it's the classic symptoms and she had them all in her eyes. I knew I had at least one in there. I had to.

**The other guy.**

But would I ever see it? My baby?

**It was this magic that made me stronger than him but it was his weakness for her that made it so easy. I feel him lay dormant like a sac of shit waiting to be sculpted into something useful. But there is no use for him. Not here while I rule. All it took was a push in one direction and he came crumbling down. Once so strong, once so easy to keep me undercontrol and now, now no choice.**

I had to. That night-how long was it?-Edward snuck into my dreams I was lost, I had given up but he gave me an idea. It took me all my strength to keep the Alpha dormant as he entered my mind and it took all of my own strength to not attack him myself. Edward Cullen-the man I had despised since I had fallen in love with Bella. The man I still despised because I could never believe she loved me more than she could ever love him. The man Is till despised because I never believed I could be as good as him. Edward Cullen DiCaprio'd me and gave me the idea. If we Quilette's descended from wolves who descended from Spirit Warriors...wasn't the Spirit Realm still opened to me?

**The leaves and ground shimmer as the magic dies around them and fills into me. Selfish, the animals think but fuck animals. They don't know anything. I need this magic for the final battle in which I strip that whore of my children and I masacre every last member of the Cullens and my former pack-especially Sam's offspring, especially the imprinted pairs. There's no room in this world for their blood lines. They are filled with weakness and desperation. The world needs a new class of species that can lead, control, defend the lesser beings. The world needs a new species that can destroy the blood-sucking scum. **

No one had practiced "spirit powers" since travel had been forbidden but that didn't mean they were completely gone. As the Alpha focused on something, most-likely retrieving my child, I could focus on traveling there. It would be difficult no doubt but I could catch him off gaurd and drag us both into the Spirit World since we are both of the same spirit. And there...I don't know...There I could fight him and conquer him and leave him behind as I took my body back. But fighting the Alpha...that was the truest trouble in my path back to my love.

**My bones creak and bend as they accomidate the last ounces of magic Taha-Aki's special grounds. My body twists and stretches as it grows to a size no one has ever seen. I stand on my legs and extend my arms outward in the shape of DaVinci's perfect man. He must have been a fortune teller. He must have seen me in all of my perfect glory.**

But I had hope.

**I flex my muscles and see a shimmering glow just beneath my skin that reminds me of what I have become. For the first time I feel the emotion that his happiness and I let out a laughter that frightens the animals and sends them running in every direction but toward me. I don't have to move or to act to know I am stronger than any vampire and werewolf combination. I don't have to do anything to be aware that I am the strongest creature alive.**

Hope-a foreign concept in these strange times but something that filled me. It was a tiny detail the Alpha and even I had looked over. Something so tiny it seemed of no importance to anyone.

**The phasing into my wolf-form takes less than a thought and I am monster large and I am fucking hideous in my beauty. There had never existed a wolf, a Quillette, as perfect as I. I run faster than the wind, I jump higher than the moon, I bite harder than the bitter chill of winter. I am a master of the elements. I am an ancient and disgusted god. I need to seek vengence.**

But something that could save everyone's life.

**I let out a howl that escapes my bowls and rips through the open air as if I had lashed at flesh and bones. It is loud and it is terrifying and it signifies one thing to my enemies.**

When the Alpha became stronger.

**I'm coming for them.**

So did I.


	24. Chapter 24

**Bella's POV**

The way they look at my stomach makes me feel like I'm the freak of the freak show. Werewolves and vampires surround me, both sides having seen crazy and horrible things, and yet they stare at my swollen gut as if inside is a nest of hornets waiting to escape. I don't even know why they are still here. Jacob has already awakened, shouldn't they be fighting him? Why do they have to wait here for him to attack? Why to they have to hover around me like starving buzzards? Why are they so afraid of the things inside of me?

"I think I would like to leave now," I say softly, my eyes focused on the burgondy carpet in Carlisle's study. Charlie's image pops into my brain with the pressing feeling of comfort and safety. I'm okay there. There it's normal.

"Bella, don't be foolish, you're still under examination," Carlisle says from the corner where him and Edward have been whispering over data and research for hours. Apparently the hard skin is none-other-than vampire skin. Apparently no needle can penetrate it, no sonogram can peak inside, and the only contact with my children is through Edward who has become more and more terrified with each interaction.

I snap, "I'm SICK of being your LAB RAT."

"Bella...," it's Seth's voice. He's gentle as he sits beside me and wraps me in a warmth I realize I miss so very, very much, "If you want...we'll go back to La Push tonight and you can stay here alone with the Cullens."

"I don't want to be with them," I mumble as I fold my arms over my chest. "I want to be with Charlie."

"But you know that's not safe," Embry says dismisively, as if I'm an errant child.

"Safe for who?" I ask through gritted teeth, "I'm perfectly fine with being in danger."

"We're tired...let's just...let's just go home and go to sleep. How does that sound? We'll all go. Bella can stay at my house with me and you can sleep in Leah's room since she's entertaining the relatives," Seth...so sweet and so annoying with his attempt at being the peacemaker frustrates me. I just want to go home. I just want to go back to simplicity.

"Bella, I texted that plan to your father. He says he's currently visiting Sue now and that it's a great idea. He's going to start making steaks now."

Oh yeah. Alice has abducted my phone and has decided to take control of my moble life. If it weren't for a rumbling that escapes my stomach along with a sense of starvation. I would scream. Instead I can only nod. I used to never eat meat-especially not this much. Slowly the wolves and Esme and Rosalie and Emmett escape the room to set up for our departure and gather some last minute items. But I'm still left with the warden vampires, the ones that started this mess. Carlisle and Edward still whispering in the corner speak with no hope of filling me in on the big discussion. I don't like to be in the dark, especially when it involves me and my babies.

But then again...

They're trying to protect me. They don't want me to worry so much about things that I have no control over. They want to know everything, _everything_, before they present me with any information that might frighten me. I'm in a fragile state and although I feel strong I just might break into tiny pieces. And I have to stay whole. For my family, for Jacob.

Jasper.

I shoot him darts because I am finally aware that for the split second he had been controling my emotions. At one point I found that comforting but now I find it manipulative, along with everything everyone else does. I wish I could shake them off and take care of everything on my own. I wish I wasn't so..."special" to these "people."

"Bella...," it's Alice's voice. I'm still upset with her for forcefully bringing me here to Carlisle's study and I'm still upset with the fact she disagrees with my need to be with Charlie. Just because she doesn't remember her's doesn't mean she can take it out on me. "Would you like to take a nap now? You look exhausted. We'll carry you to the car"

"No," I snap, folding my arms over my chest again and resting it on my baby bump, "I'm too hungry to go to sleep."

"Would you like me to make something for you?" it's Esme, peaking her head in at the sound of me being hungry. Her golden eyes are so hopeful I can't imagine being cruel to her. She thinks Rosalie and Alice should attend the sleep over, just to keep me safe. She would suggest Rachel but she's been with Emily and Leah since the birth. She believes Rosalie and Alice are a diplomatic solution but I disagree. I want my Daddy all to myself.

I shake my head softly, "No thank you. I'll go find something myself."

"Want me and Alice to join you?" Jasper asks hesitantly but still with the kind of authority he has because he _thinks_ he can change my emotions for long. He's trying to be nice.

But I can't accept this. I don't want to be around the freaks anymore, "No thank you. I just need some alone time for at least five seconds."

I stand up from the large sofa and stare daggers at them so they understand I can do this on my own. It's difficult to get around with the extra, extra, weight on me but I manage. I keep my eyes on the ground because I feel their's on me. They're all having their secret conversations about how disturbing I look with my growing stomach, about how I look like I'm going to pop. They all think they should pluck the babies inside of me out, even though we already they are thinking and feeling. Even though we already know they love m-

A smell...so familiar and yet so different. My eyes turn to a blood bag left carelessly on the corner of a desk near the door. The smell..so tasty...but not on its own. So tasty like steak sauce, so tasty like honey mustard. Something that I can't pass up. But I know they're still watching me. I know even the smallest of actions they will pick up and question and probe and "figure out." I can't take their constant disecting. I just want to be myself. I just want them to stop caring.

"Esme."

It's Edward's voice that causes a distraction so I can take the bag as I leave. Of course he would be calling Esme. She's the only expert in the subject, she is the only one that has ever had a child. I touch my stomach as I think of her story again. What would I do if I were in her place? If I lost the little pieces of myself making me so strong?

It is them that is making me strong. Before I could never stand up the ever-lasting beauty of the Cullens. I could never stand up to Edward's searching eyes that seemed to gaze at me with a love I could never fathom being all for me. I could never stand up to the smell, his smell, that enveloped me and filled me with a wanting desire I thought could never be quenched. And even after that. I could never stand up to my love for Jacob. I could never imagine a life without him. And now I see it as my only option.

In the kitchen I find my way to the freezer. The wolves are running around here and there and everywhere but they leave me and the kitchen alone. Inside the freezer I find a fresh, hardly touched by the cold, package of ground beef. For some reason meat has been my favorite source of nutrition through out my pregnancy. I pick up the plump hamburger meat in the white wrapping and place it on the counter. There is some juices in it that spills but I find a plate and let it drip. I throw away the wrapping paper and leave the ground beef on my plate, bloody...but not the right kind of blood. This is when I open the blood bag and breathe in the fresh aroma, it's my blood type. I squeeze some from the bag and it spills on my fingers as I slowly begin to drizzle it on the meat. I'm teasing myself. The smell...is almost euphoric and the taste...I have to close my eyes to enjoy every second. I lick the flavors off of my fingers but it's not enough. I lean down and let my tongue roll over the meat, lapping up the blood before I take a bite. I want to bath in it, in the blood, I want it inside of me, I want it everywhere, I want to be consumed by it. I haven't felt this kind of pleasure since my night with Edward. But this pleasure is different. I'm not ashamed, I'm not guilty, I'm ecstatic.

"Bella...?"

I feel a shift in my stomach that takes away the glory. There is a strengthening inside of me that makes me a little afraid. They said he was hungry. Was this what he was hungry for? For blood? What will happen now that his thirst has been quenched.

_Don't think about it. He'll take care of me. If he's anything like Edward, he'll make sure I'm safe._

Those are the thoughts in my head. They make my feasting enjoyable again.

"Bella...?" I forgot. One of the Cullens again. Or a wolf. Who is it? My senses have been dulled so I can enjoy the true beauty of my meal. All I register is that my name has been called, again. They can never give me a second to breathe.

I reply, "Yes?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes? Why wouldn't I be?" I ask, only slightly interested.

"Look at yourself."

I glance down, away from the plate and feel my heart jump into my throat. I look two months bigger than I had seconds ago. I can't see my feet. I can't see anything. I hardly have a lower half anymore. I'm just stomach. I'm stomach everywhere.

"Here, let's clean you up before they see you," it's Rosalie. She's infront of me with a napkin cleaning away the blood all over my mouth and trying her hardest not to smell it. Emmett has gotten rid of my plate of blood and the bag, it's too much of a temptation for them right now, they haven't eaten in a while.

"Who's taking Bella in their car?" Jared asks.

"We are," of course, it's Alice.

"Alright, follow us!" Paul grins with bags in his hands.

Edward and Carlisle appear and they look at me disturbed even more. I can't take this. I can't take the looks that they give me.

"Come on," Esme smiles as she wraps her arm around my back. Suddenly I find it so hard to move. I ask for Rosalie and she's at my other side. I need all the help I can get, "We're taking the BIG car today."

"Did someone grab Bella's bag?" Rosalie asks.

"Yeah, I got it," Emmett replies.

"We shouldn't be moving," Carlisle sighs with a bag of his own.

"Alice, are you alright?" I hear Edward ask as we make our way to the car.

"Yeah just...everything is getting a little blurry..." I hear Alice answer before the car door shuts. They leave me in the dark again as they have their own discussion. I can't take this anymore. I just want freedom...i just want to be out.


	25. Chapter 25

**Kim's POV**

I had always thought Bella didn't deserve the things she was so freely given. She didn't deserve Jacob's love or Edward's devotion. She didn't deserve the lives of the pack that so willingly would be given for her. These things, so precious, seemed to be given to her like tokens to a queen. Bella wasn't a queen. We didn't need her attention. I used to think she wasn't anything special.

But I was wrong.

"What are you thinking about?"

My stomach flip-flops at the sound of Jared's voice. His hand reaches beside me to hold mine resting on my lap. He's so cute. My heart beats a million times a minute and I'm positive he can hear it, it's the cause of the little smirk on his stupid face. He knows that I want him. Even after our "fight" about babies when we both confessed we don't want _babies_ we just want to _fuck_ he keeps doing the sweet things because they turn me on.

"Bella," I answer absent-mindedly looking out my window at the millions of trees and empty road. We ride in the car by ourselves since Paul, Seth, Quil, and Embry decided to give us some alone time and pack into the car in front of us. Maybe Jared talked to them before. Maybe he thought he could get some road head out of this.

"Yeah...you can add her to the list of 'Why I Don't Want Kids...Ever,'" his thumb is running along the back of my hand and I have to bite my lip to keep myself calm. We can't do anything now, we have to be focused. Jacob is on the loose...but he's rubbing a soft spot in a circle reminding me of what he can do to my...he's such a bastard.

But two can play that game.

I reach my other hand on top of his and begin to stroke his wrist with the gentle touch of my finger nails. His thumb stops and I notice the blush building in his cheeks, "It's not her fault...she doesn't want any of this...she just wants to be normal."

"Fucking vampires and werewolves isn't normal," he says, emphasizing the 'fucking' most because he's a bad boy and he knows I like it.

I glance up at him but quickly regret it. He's so...he's so hot! The memories of when I'd sit next to him and he'd cheat off of me and I'd wear those low cut shirts he wouldn't notice burn at the base of my skull. He's only gotten hotter since then, since he's become mine. Sometimes I think he didn't _really_ imprint on me. Sometimes I think I kind of forced my hand. It's this kind of thinking that gets me where he wants me to be. Sometimes he'll comment in a disinterested tone, "Remember high school?" and he's mine. I think he likes it when I'm in control. I think he likes it a whole lot.

"I still feel bad for her. She doesn't want to be pitied like a little princess. She doesn't want to be taken care of," I sigh, leaning my face against his big arm to breathe in the scent of dirt and Earth mixed into his skin.

"Do you want to be taken care of?" He asks as the car slows down to stop behind Embry. I don't bother peeking up, I know it's a tree that has fallen in the rain that we need to get around, but suddenly Jared's hot hand is underneath my chin and guiding it to face him. He's so close-his breath, his lips, his nose, his eyes, his chin, his everything-and I'm weak under him like I like to be. He leans down, still not kissing me yet, and asks, "Do you want to be taken care of?"

It's too much. I can't play coy anymore.

My hand shoots up and grabs his hair to push him closer. His lips melt into mine and suddenly we're both fighting against our seatbelts to grab onto each other and kiss and hold and touch and grab what ever we can while we wait for the big Cullen to move the tree. The way his hands touch me everywhere I want to be touched at once like a big sexy blanket makes me so weak but he wants me to be controling. I can tell by how loose his movements are, so I grab onto his hair and peel him off of me so I can scramble onto him and bite at his lips and kiss down his throat and run my hands over his chest. I wish we were alone. I wish we didn't have to wait. I wish it was just us. I leave little bite marks on his skin that I know will heal as they remind him how much I want him in me. He's already hard and it's almost too easy for me to get him where I want him in this small space. But the space is too small and I want him now.

Beep.

Now, of course, is when we have to start moving.

"Damn Kim," Jared grins as he rubs his jaw and I button up my blouse again. "Almost bit my face off."

"They're called love bites and what about you?" I snap because I'm embarresed. He chuckles that chuckle that means he's laughing at me as we begin to drive again.

"What about me?" he asks as he grabs my hand.

I try to pull it away but he's too strong, "I'm going to have bruises."

"You know bruises are the least of your concerns," he grins as he rests his hand on my thigh and squeezes it, "I'm worried about who's going to notice how wet you are."

I punch his arm and shout, "WELL HOW ARE YOU GOING TO HIDE YOUR FUCKING ERECTION!"

He looks down at himself and this is when I laugh. Everyone knows he has a grow-er not a show-er but when it's grown...it's pretty massive. He pouts at me, his hand still on my thigh while the other guides the wheel, "I have to get rid of this! I can't walk out with this monster!"

This is where the road head comes from but I'm not giving in after he's teased me so much, "Nope. Figure that out yourself, Jerk."

"Kim! You know what happens to me! It hurts so BAAAD!" he groans.

"Well I'm so-"

SLAM.

Embry's car rolls down the slope of the hill to our right as a monster the size of the Cullen home runs with it, pushing it further and further down into the mountain side. The sound of crushing and riping and breaking fills the air along with cold and bitter chill of the wind. My hands cover my mouth to keep in a scream that might come out if I don't stop it. What was that? Was that Jacob?

"Kim."

I look to him and he is shaking, trembling, and I'm terrified he's going to shift in the car but he doesn't. He pulls off our seatbelts and yanks me out of the car through the driver's side. I'd slap at him any other time but I'm so scared I can't think straight. He's holding me against him like a little rag doll and I'm looking behind us to see that the trees are shaking which means the monster is coming back to get us. I try to warn him but he's crushing my stomach and I can't speak.

"Jared."

He plants me on the ground beside Bella and Alice and grabs my face so hard I feel like my head is going to fall off. He kiss me deeply and whispers, "Run."

"I love you," I say softly even though he told me millions of times not to because he doesn't know what love is and we're too young and he wants us to mean it and blah blah blah.

I expect him to roll his eyes but instead he does something really scary. He nods his head and says, "I love you too."

He runs away toward the trees and shifts into the big wolf I love so much. My eyes brim with tears but I can't focus on that now. Edward gets my attention by turning me around and pushing me into the Cullen car behind Bella, shouting to Alice, "Go! Go! He's after her!"

But the car door has slammed shut so I'm unsure if he means after me or after Bella. Alice is in the driver's side and I think to myself this is a bad idea. She's so small, she can hardly see over the steering wheel but Bella see my fear because she smiles and touches my arm, "Watch this."

In less than a second Alice has pulled an awesome racecar driver circle and we are driving, already two miles away from the scene behind us. I have to learn quickly that these Cullens are nothing to fuck with. I grin at Bella and she smiles at me too. I don't know why but being next to her starts to make me feel really, really calm, confident even. I start to feel really really good.

Until the car starts to skid and I turn around to see the big monster Jacob right behind us, sweeping us away into the forest.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey guys. I know it's kind of hard to understand but just imagine the Alpha speaking as the wolf and Jacob speaking as him in human form.**

**Jacob's POV**

It was so weird.

It was the first time I had been detached from the being, from th Alpha, from the monster.

It was perfect.

It was so freeing like I wasn't held down by anything at all.

Like I was apart of the wind.

I flew like a bird at the top of my mind and watched as my wolf form destroyed my friends and people I thought were enemies.

This felt so perfect.

But the perfect came with a cost.

I had to remind myself my friends were distracting the Alpha while I found the spirit world.

I knew it was around here.

I remember...one day...when I was little...I had a happy place I would visit...it was big and white and I could sit there alone but my dad told me I couldn't go there anymore. It was against the law...I thought he meant it was against the law to be happy-maybe that's why I picked Bella, maybe that's why I denied the Alpha force, maybe that's why I didn't fight when I felt it peaking up-and I thought I could never be happy again. But then the stories...the stories starting filling things into places. The happy place. Rebecca used to say I would sit in a corner and her and Rachel would put make up on me and I wouldn't react to a thing. It was like I wasn't even there. It was just my happy place. Where I was alone.

_Jacob..._

Mom...was that...was that my mom's voice?

_Jacob come here..._

Mom?!

_Jacob...shhh...follow me..._

BOOM!

_**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O! HOW COULD HE! HOW COULD THAT FUCKING BASTARD! HOW DID HE DO IT?! HOW DID H-**_

_The world was as beautiful as I remembered. It was white in every direction I could find except for down bellow. Down bellow was my body laying limp on the highway road surrounded by my healing friends. Down bellow were the Cullens pulling their body parts back together as Sam Uley lifted my head to see if I was breathing. Down bellow was a groupd of my closest friends completely stunned. That mean only one thing. That meant the Alpha was here._

_**I'm glad you came to that conclusion on your own YOU FUCKING IDIOT. Now what do you want!? You wanted me here Jacob and now I'm fucking here! What the fuck do you want?!**_

_I want you to STOP hurting my family! I want you to STOP_ _hurting my wife!_

_**Your wife? Your family? Oh...Oh Jacob you fucking idiot. You act as if all of my actions weren't instigated by your thoughts. I'm apart of you baby! YOU were jealous of Bella fucking around and so I MADE THAT STOP!**_

_YOU MADE IT HAPPEN! YOU DROVE HER INTO HIS ARMS!_

_**I MADE HER STOP LOVING HIM!**_

_YOU MADE HER STOP LOVING ME!_

_**She NEVER loved you. She's a WHORE. She only MARRIED YOU FOR CONVINIENCE! YOU SHOULD BE THANKING ME! YOU SHOULD BE GIVING IN!**_

_Giving in? Giving in for WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT?_

_**I WANT RESPECT! I WANT TO MATTER! I WANT TO STOP BEING PUSHED TO THE BACK OF THE PACK TO THE BACK OF YOUR MIND! I WANT TO CONTROL! I WANT TO LEAD!**_

_YOU CAN NEVER LEAD! ALL YOU CAN DO IS DESTROY! Who wants to follow a monster? _

_**Monster? You think I'm a monster? I'll show you a monster. **_

_No. You're not doing anything. You can't leave. You're never getting out again._

_**And who's going to stop me? A little pussy like you? **_

_Yeah. I'm going to stop you. _

_**You know what...I don't think you are. I don't think you're going to do that.**_

_No. And what do you think I'm going to do going to do?_

_**I think you're going to watch as I masacre every woman every man in my pack has ever loved. I think you're going to watch me do that.**_

_You aren't going to do that. I'm not going to let you._

_**What makes you think you can stop me now when you couldn't stop me from fucking your wife.**_

_I'm stronger now._

_**I'm stronger now.**_

_You're on my playing field._

_**No. You're on MINE!**_

**The little bitch. It took less than a second. It took less than a thought and less than a flex. That was the thing I loved most about the spirit world. There was no bullshit, there was no epic fighting. There was only stronger and weaker. There was only win or lose. And I was the winner and now I had full control of the body. **

**I open my eyes and watch the weaklings jump back in fear. But I don't do anything yet. I pretend I'm their Jacob. I pretend that I'm back. But really I'm just getting used to the lack of limitations. There's nothing I can't do in here. I'm free. I'm free in all the ways Jacob never was. Slowly I hear them begin to sigh and Leah takes a step forward.**

"Jacob?" **she asks hesitantly. It's the right kind of response. It's the response I des-**

"IT'S THE ALPHA!"

**Edward Cullen.**

**I think I'll do Jacob one last favor. I think I'll destroy that little bitch, limb by limb, skin cell by skill cell. In one swift moment I sit up and phase into the wolf that I am, the wolf that I love to be, and I snatch Edward's arm into my mouth to spit out. Wow. I have to relish in that. So easy. Just a simple riiiiip as if I were breaking apart pieces of paper. Jacob really was a fucking sac of shit. I let out a laugh, well a laugh bark, and it's sickening how easy I get them all into pieces. How simple I rip them ALL apart. **

**The wolves are terrified because they've never had their limbs missing before but the Cullen's know how it goes. I stand and I watch with a vague sense of bordom. Really? Is that it? Is that all? Is there nothing left...no one for me to fight? I glance upward and to my surprise Jacob's spirit form is just above me, watching in horror and trying to break through the thin viel. But he can't do anything because this is my body and I'm never letting it go. **

**A scream pierces my ears at such a high requency I cringe and recoil in myself but I instantly register who it is...It's Bella...and I'm going to have some real fun with her and little Kimmy...I'm going to have some real fun finally. **


	27. Chapter 27

**Bella's POV**

"Bella! Bella, Bella! Bella!"

My mind is a racing blur of whizzing memories. "Bella, Bella" I hear but I see James standing over me with his little video camera and his very big smile. I see the video of my mother searching for me and I see myself as the child I have always been. A little too careless, very unable to handle my own problems. Always needing someone to look after me.

"Mom?"

My voice doesn't sound like my own.

"Bella! Are you alright! Jesus, you're fucking bleeding!"

At the sound of the f-word my blurred mind start to find some calm and I'm thrown back into my chaos. I register the voice.

"Not mom."

A large light is suddenly casted on me and I peak upward to see Alice standing beside Kim with the door in her hands. The car is completely upside down and I lay on the new bottom staring at the seat cushions suspended in the air. I'm so confused.

"Bella!"

Alice suddenly grabs me from under my arms and pulls me from the wreckage. She sits me up against a tree trunk and I see that they are both correct. There is blood leaking out of me and there is a pain in what's left of my abdomin. I think my babies are ready to be born.

"Kim, you have to get out of here! Come on, take Bella!" It's Alice making orders and she's so panicked that I feel like I'm going to vomit but something in Kim's face stops me. She isn't crying, she isn't frightened. She stands, waiting patiently with her arms extended to recieve me. Alice lifts me again and drapes my arm over poor Kim's shoulders, she can't handle it but somehow she does.

"No! Kim just go! Just leave me here! I'm fine!" I shout, slowly slumping down to my knees as I push her away but it's like I'm already dead, they aren't even listening to me.

"There is a path down that way that leads to our house," Alice is bopping up and down on her heals so fast she's nearly invisible.

"That ways too obvious, I know a short cut," these words are said in short spirts as Kim grabs a branch and propels us forward down the descending slope. It takes me by surprise how fast we're moving and then I remember that race Kim and Jared had on the beach a while back and I remember Jacob explaining shortly after that she played soccer for the high school team. It makes perfect sense now why she knows the woods and why it's so easy for her to drag me down the hill. They used to run through the trees for practice.

But still...still where's Alice? I turn around to look for her but she's gone and in her place is a trail of blood that I'm leaving behind.

"Kim," I say in my forceful voice, trying to get her to pay attention, "Leave me HERE. He won't kill me Kim! He wont' do it. Just leave me and go home, okay? You can't make it with me, I can't even go!"

There is no response. Kim's face is calm despite her deep breathes that come out like a someone drowning. Her eyes dart from place to place as she moves, never once stopping down the hill because if she did we'd tumble downward. I'm dead weight. All I can do is hold out my arm to block a tree branch or grab one to get us forward. If we were to stop, if she were to hesitate, I would topple over her and we'd roll down like those cartoon big snow boulders. We'd be done. We'd be dead.

But then I begin to think...none of this makes sense...None of this is worth it. Kim dragging me?-because in truth I can't walk. My lower half feels immoble but to our benefit we are on a downward slope so all we need to do is grab trees to propel us forward-but it's useless. The further we get the louder the fighting is and the more screams I hear and the more ridiculous this seems. Tears work their way down my face and suddenly I'm angry. Why are they so stupid? Why is everyone so stupid? Why are they all trying to die for me? Why is Kim risking her life for me? What am I to them? I'm just some stupid girl? I don't deserve any of this!

The more I think the angrier I am and the more I can't control myself and I begin to yank my body away and try to hold onto the trees that we're passing at such a rapid pace, "LET GO OF ME! LET ME DIE! LET ME DIE! I WANT TO DIE! I CAN'T TAKE THIS! I CAN'T TAKE EVERYONE GETTING HURT! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! JUST LEAVE ME HERE!"

Still no answer. She's completely breathless and I hope this means she's getting weak. I pull at her arm around me but it's like she has an iron grip and it's like my muscles are made out of jello. Trunk after trunk, branch after branch, she has to let go, we're moving so fast, she has to slip at some point.

"Kim, listen to me! Listen! You don't have to do this!" I'm crying now. "L-Look behind us, Kim! Look! I'm bleeding! We can't hide! I'm leading him right to us! There's a TRAIL! It doesn't make sense for both of us to get hurt! Okay? Just leave me here and hide! Okay?! Just leave me here!"

She doesn't respond. I begin to feel so helpless...like I'm the one that's slipping...like I'm the one that's crazy...like my protesting isn't worth it. I begin to feel like my life isn't worth it and no one will realize that until I'm dead...maybe that's it...I'm so tired...maybe I just need to...sleep...

A white shinning pain rips through my stomach and suddenly I'm screaming, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHAAAHH! AHAH! GOOOODD! AHHH!"

"Bella!" It's now that Kim begins to cry but I can't focus on that, the only thing penetrating my sleepy haze is the pain that feels like my body is splitting completely in half, "We're almost there! We're almost there!"

It's a blind pain and my only relief is in shrieking out the horror my body is under going and I can't I can't I can't breathe! Every second more every movement every action I can't! I need to die! I need to go! I need to vanish! I'm sobbing so hard but all I want to do IS TO DISAPEAR! I NEED TO GO I NEED TO LEAVE! IT HURTS TO BAD!

"BELLA! PLEASE! PLEASE STOP SCREAMING!" Kim's crying louder than me and suddenly we're at the Cullen home is in sight but what's there! It's just us! It's just me and her and there's NOTHING! THERE'S NO SALVATION! CARLISLE CAN'T HELP US! NO ONE CAN SAVE ME! GOD IT HURTS! IT HURTS!

Kim pauses at the last tree in the lining as she tries to figure out how to hold me. She's shouting in my face and trying to keep my eyes on her but I look behind and see chunks of stuff on the ground in the snow that looks like a fish guts or...I don't even...I can't...She slaps me and forces me to her eyes and is screaming something about my babies, about how I have to keep going for my babies and not to die on them or let them die on me but she doesn't understand what it's like to be torn apart from the inside out and have no idea what's going on. Even if Carlisle were here...what could he do? What could any one d-

It sounds like a tornado but we know it's him. We know it's the monster Jacob and we don't bother waiting because we know he's coming straight for us. She pulls me into the Cullen home and my screams have transformed into whimpers that are helpless and hopeless but maybe if we're inside everything will change. Maybe the boogeyman can't hurt us behind the Cullen walls that have always been a safe place.

Kim slams the door behind us and she rests me on the ground against a wall but I'm too weak, I can't stay up and I collapse backwards onto the floor. Everything comes in and out of focus and another piercing pain shoots through me and I scream out my anguish..but I'm never really felt anguish...not until now.

Jacob bursts through the doors and upside down I see his eyes register me. My arms wrap around my stomach to protect my babies but it isn't me he's looking for. My arms reach outward for her who is trying to defend me but this little girl, what can she do? Where are they? I open my mouth to warn her, "KIMM! KIM RUN! RUUUUN! JAAAAAARED!"

But it's too late. Jacob's nose sweeps across the air and Kim goes flying to the cieling like a paper ball displaced by a broom. I can't recognize the sound of the voice that leaves my throat as I watch Kim fall to the ground. There's nothing left...there's nothing left for anyone. There's nothing left for me.


	28. Chapter 28

**Edward's POV**

"Kim."

It's the name that is being shrieked at the top of our lungs but it's indistinguishable. All that is heard is the fearsome roar from our chests and all that is understood is the young human girl lying on the floor in the pool of her own blood. The smell catches our attention at once. Fresh blood from a slowing heartbeat is the most precious blood ever percieved but we have all been combined into this one moment with Jared as our leader and we cry out in pain for the poor dying girl that we love so much. The pain...The pain that is amplified a million miles away...the pain that reminds me of the terrors of being human.

"Kim."

Somehow we break apart into little pieces in the doorway but we act as one huge being like arms and limbs working together and seperately at the same time. It's Emmett who acts first and in his shriek he has run up the wall and leaps to Jacob-who grins with his mouth bloody and Bella's stomach completely torn open-with his arms opened wide promising a hug that will squeeze him in half. But it's too obvious. Jacob will notice. And he does.

Jacob lifts up his head to catch Emmett in his open mouth but he doesn't succeed. From the other side Rosalie has snuck up upon Jacob and in her leap has attached her arms and legs around Jacob's mouth. Emmett uses his momentum to grab Rosalie's arms and he flings all of them backward into the wall of the kitchen where they both go tumbling through the house making everything fall apart. It was a perfect plan. It gives us some hope. We can do more with our universal mind. We can do that again.

Embry and Quil jump into action and run forward at rapid speed with Collin and Brady coming right after them. Leah and Seth follow Jasper and Esme out of the house to where they converge at some point to guide Jacob away somewhere. But I can't focus on that. Carlisle is at Kim's side with Alice trying to patch up what they can as Jared covers the sound of all movements with his screams. Sam is beside him, trying to control him and hold him and stop him from interfering with Carlisle and Alice's aid. It's devistating. But it keeps us going. We have to win. We have to save her. We can't let this happen to the others.

".Ed...Edward."

I'm at Bella's side in a second but I wish I was far far away. Her body is completely ripped open revealing every organ in her dorsal cavity. I watch her heart beat strong and fierce and her organs work at their max and I understand that she's dying, I understand her body is giving every single drop of nutrition to the babies that lay on their sides in her open womb. There are three like Mason promised, they're all small as he had promised too. He's slightly bigger than they are, the male that Alice said would be J.J. and the female Alice said would be Marley that belong to Jacob, but he is just as weak and vulnerable as they are in this open air. Their hearts beat at such a rapid pace but their breathing is slow and there are no cries...they have yet to be born, they have yet to escape the cacoon that is Bella's uteras.

"..eDward?..."

I lower myself and grab her hand to hold it to my mouth. Her blood, now flowing, is her blood and it sings to be as it had the first time I had gotten a scent of it. But I'm a different man now. I'm a father. I can handle it. My eyes are on the babies, on Mason that seems to stir and awaken from his slumber, and her eyes are on the fighting behind me, tearing our home apart. I whisper softly, "Bella..."

"K-Ki-im..."

Her voice is so weak. The color in her face is almost completely gone.

"Carlisle is with her now," I answer softly as I reach my hand forward to caress her cheek as tenderly as I can.

She nods her head weakly and turns to look up into my eyes softly. She squeezes my hand but it's like a flower petal trying to be a lion. She signs, "I'm sorry."

I lean down and kiss her forehead, "I'm sorry too."

There's something about the beat of Bella's heart that's strangely irregular. Before it had begin to decrease but now it beats at a steady pace as if nothing is going to happen to her, as if she's not really dying at all. She removes her hand and swallows hard as she whispers, "Save...Jake...I...I'll be wait..ing..."

_NEED SOME BACK UP!_

It's Emmett and I take this both as my que to get into the fight. I stand up and I turn around to see ever single person on Jacob and in a uniform movement pulling him down. It seems to be working, I've never seen this kind of unison but still he is on his feet. Sam looks to me and I look to him and I don't need to read his mind because I know there is no thought, there is only action. We run forward toward him, Sam from the back and me from the front while Jacob tries to pry them off of him one by one. We know this will work. We know this plan is as perfect as the first. Not because Sam and I move at the same pace and not because the others won't let go. Not because while Jacob sweeps his head at Sam and bites at me we dodge and I am able to grab his mouth as Rosalie had to push it upward and not because as I grab his mouth Sam grabs his ear and pulls his head backwards. This plan works because no one is aware that while we're pushing him backward his neck is free. This plan works because no one is aware that while is neck is free so is Jared.

Jared's death dig in right where they need to and he rips the chunk of Jacob's throat out that supplies air to all the major organs. We pull now but the oddest thing occurs. Odd like before on the highway, he glows a bright golden and color that shakes his body and his muscles begin to twist and contort in a way that knocks us all off. And just before anyone can ask the wolves give us vampires a sight that has never been open to us. Through their eyes we watch the spirit world...something I was certain never existed...and Jacob, our Jacob, burst through it into our plane and pull the wolf from his body. And now that they are in the air Jacob's body crumbles into his human form beside Bella with no spirit to aid in it's healing.

**I JUMP INTO THE AIR AND GRAB AT THE FLOATING BASTARD BUT HE DIVES INTO LEAH AND SHE RU-**

"HE'S POSSESSING EVERYONE! SOMEONE GET KIM OUT OF HERE!" I scream. Our eyes go upward as the Alpha looks down upon her nearly lifeless body and before he can dive I jum-

**FUCK FUCK FUCK**

We dive in front, one by on-

**FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK**

I grab Alice by the back of her head and slam her behind me to the staircase and jump to the spirit with o-

**I GRAB THIS FUCKING HEAD AND PULL IT OFF OF MY FUCKING BO-**

I fall to the floor and shove my head back onto the shoulders. Something that had once been so painful but now seemed not to sting, like Jane's abilities...oh if Jane were here. I look around but Kim is missing and now Jacob posesses Jasper and is trying to calm Collin who is possessed by the Alpha as well. There's no where for him to go now. No where except...one of the children.


	29. Chapter 29

**Mason's POV**

Everyone screams and they fight but Mommy is so quiet. Her heart is slow but it needs to be fast. My arm is cold but my body is warm with my brother and sister inside Mommy's hold. I don't want to leave. Out side is danger and scary. But Mommy's heart is so slow and it needs to be fast and faster. The big world outside of screaming and fighting, though. I don't want that. I want the warm and the love and the sound of Mommy getting scared and excited and the sound of her whispering to me that she loves me and my sister and brother. I want in here for ever. But we can't. She gets colder too. She needs to be warm like Jacob. Like how she remembered he used to be.

I'm so tired but I know what I should do. Daddy thought about it once but now I can succeed. But it's so hard. I reach up into the cold world and try to grab onto the wall that protected me and my sister and brother from being hurt. It's so hard to hold and so slippery but I have to move I have a plan. I grab it and I pull myself up and I cry because it makes me stronger to move. The world is so big out of my home but I can go back and save my sister and brother but I have to save Mommy first. I can't be afraid. I have to keep moving.

I climb up on the wall and see Mommy looking away. She looks so tired like she's going to sleep like Daddy used to remember when they laid down together. I climb as fast as I can but it hurts so much. I just want to sleep but I can't. Her skin is so soft and I can't believe this is what she looks like. This is my Mommy. She has a little smile on her lips but she can't move yet. She's really tired like me. Her heart is beating so small but she says my name and I know I have to keep moving and I do. I reach her heart that is one beat from stopping and I give her a bite with my teeth that hurt my mouth so much. I don't want these teeth and maybe if I give them to Mommy she can use them to talk to me more. I bite her heart again but her heart is still beating slow. I don't know if it works.

Her head turns away from me and I see she is looking at Jacob. He is sleeping too and I can hear is heart just like Mommy's. No wonder they love each other so much. I start to climb again and I move across Mommy's heart but it hurts again and I don't know if I can. But if I did it one time I can do it again and maybe I can save everyone. I climb to Jacob's shoulder to find his heart but suddenly Daddy is there and he tries to grab me away. I bite Jacob's arm but I don't know if it's hard enough because Daddy is pulling me away and he puts me back with my brother and sister. I'm crying because I don't know if I did it. I don't know if I helped but suddenly I'm sad.

No...

I left them alone and now they are sick too. My brother and my sister don't breathe hard like they did before and now their hearts beat so slow too. It's my fault. I left them all alone. I go back into my circle but the warm is leaving. I try to find it again but it's so little it's like there is none left. I'm so cold now and everyone is screaming. I'm so tired and I'm so sad. I don't want to leave my brother and my sister. I don't want to leave them ever again.


	30. Chapter 30

**Edward's POV**

"We have to cut the chords before they become too toxic for them. I don't understand how Mason was able to escape the womb but something in his displacement is affecting the other children as well as Bella's systems. Esme, hand me the scissors," Carlisle is speaking to no one and everyone at the same time. Esme kneels beside him as his faithful companion, trying to save the children of the woman I love.

The Alpha spirit is in the air fighting with Jacob's spirit, creating a hurricane like atmosphere that blows everything around. We stand around and try to find a way to anticipate anything that comes, what ever comes, but we are unprepared for this kind of fighting. We don't understand how we can be anything but vessels to these two anymore.

"Do you think they will make it? They're not even crying, Carlisle. Babies are supposed to cry when they are born," It's Esme's concerned voice ringing above the calamity. No one can answer her question.

Rosalie is beside Jared finishing up the stitching on Kim's head but she continues to bleed through the pressure that he applies. Her heart is giving out even though he has already performed CPR three times. From the distance I can see him shaking in such a way I'm terrified he's going to bring the house down with it. Emmett stands helplessly to the side as well as the other large Quillette's. No muscle can win this fight. Nothing can win this fight.

"Where do we put them? Where's a safe place?" Esme's voice has an edge to it despite the fact that she tries to stay calm. She's thinking _This poor child...my poor baby...what has happened to my baby girl..._

Brady is possessed now by Jacob who snaps at the heals of the Alpha force in the air. It's easy to determine who is controling who now. The Alpha tries to inflict pain on the vessel he controls while Jacob tries to stop the inflicting from happening. There is some relief that comes from this. At least we are aware that the real Jacob is back and that he's fighting. At least we are aware now that it's not just us and that we are not fighting for a broken cause that doesn't exist.

"I think it's best to keep them in Bella's womb. It's the safest place," Carlisle answers.

Jared is performing CPR for the fourth time and Rosalie has pulled her hands away in a shaking manner as if she can't, as if she doesn't understand anything anymore as if she doesn't know how she can help. She grabs some cloth and tries to apply pressure again but she is shaking and she is aware the slightest move will crush her skull. She shakes her head and tells Jared she doesn't know, she doesn't know. He's sobbing out loud as he tries to pump air into her deflated lungs and tries to move her heart again. He screams to "Bite" her to do anything but Rosalie can't. She doesn't have that kind of contol.

"That's sick," Esme hisses as she feels a quacking inside of her body.

The Alpha takes hold of Alice's body and slams her head against the stairs. breaking each step. Jasper wraps his arms tightly around her body, using the full maximum of his abilities to stop her completely but all he succeeds in doing is making the movements sluggish. Seth is trying to grab her face away to stop it from slamming down but even he can't succeed in that. All that occurs is the Alpha taking over him too.

"It's the only way. There is still that protective skin that covers the top from the cold although most of the warmth in her body has already escaped. At least here they are all together and they are comfortable in a familiar place. Moving them will only shock them," Carlisle tries to explain.

KIM! KIM! Jared is screaming as her heart gives out fro the last time.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Embry screams.

"There has to be another way," Esme sobs with no hope of tears being able to escape.

I cover my face with my hands as Embry tries to rip his hand off of his wrist. There is only so much chaos a group of beings-vampire, werewolf, human-can take. There is only so much we can witness and there is only so much we can fight before we are truly exhausted. Before we truly decided to give u-

Our eyes are blinded by a bright and glorious light that brings our attention to the entrence of the Cullen home where Kim lays. Standing above her we see Jared but it is not Jared any longer. His face is soft and serene, the wild and devistated man replaced by an angel. But it isn't him that is glowing. A huge being surrounds Jared like a puppet master pulling strings and as it moves, this glowing thing, Jared responds and spins around to face the Spirits that are in the air. We have all stepped backward to watch as the thing lifts Jared's arms into the air as if he were holding a sword. The Alpha screams and heads toward Jared but this is what it wants. The glowing angel releases the sword and it hits the Alpha, sending it flying backwards into the air. But before it can escape Jacob's spirit is there with his own sword that splits the Alpha into pieces in the direction of the children. We run forward to stop, to get in the way, to anything but Jacob is sucked into the swing and falls forward as if they babies were vaccums and they let out a piercing cry as surely the combined spirits flow into them. We look at one another and we look at Jared's puppetmaster to see if he has any solution. But all he does in one swift motion is swing to Kim and collapse through Jared's hands and into her body, filling her with the golden glory and allowing her to sit up and breathe for the first time in ten minutes.

The glowing fades away and she collapses with Jared beside her back onto the floor. We are stunned into silence but Rosalie reacts anyway. _Breathing, breathing. _She thinks and she looks at me and without thinking informs that she is taking Kim to the hospital with Emmett beside her. I nod my head and they flea the scene, leaving us here with the no screaming babies.

Silence seems to hold onto us and it appears as though we are waiting for the babies to unite against us to rip us apart as the spirit had been doing since it had awaken. But there is nothing. There is just children crying.

Alice steps froward slowly, taking in deep breaths of air as she asks, "Carlisle...what should we do?"


	31. Chapter 31

**Seth's POV**

What should we do?

Bella and Jacob haven't even decomposed yet and here Alice is asking what should we do. Kim was just revived thanks to some freaky spirit thing Jared did and now the Alpha force thing that has been kicking our ass up and down the Rez and Forks is inside the three little babies that are crying so loud I'm thinking about shutting them up. What should we do? There's no question about it. We should send them away to some orphanage where they can be someone else's problem. We should send the little half vampire one to those weirdos in Italy and we should set up a proper funeral for Bella and Jacob and we should make sure Kim is alright. That's what we should do. We should wipe our hands and try to forget all this ever happened. We should take relief in the fact that Kim isn't dead and the fact that at least now...now Bella and Jake are at peace. That's what we should do.

"Kill them."

No. I look up but there is no denying that indeed Doctor Cullen has said it. He stands with his jaw clenched and his face hard and his eyes set on the three things huddled inside Bella's open stomach. I can't believe it. I can't believe what that thing has done to the people I thought would never hurt a thing. No one answers Doctor Cullen's reply and it's like everyone here completely agrees. It can't be that easy. It can't be that easy for all of them to change.

Doctor Cull turns toward the children but suddenly, so fast no one sees who did it, he goes flying backward and hits the wall with a large crash. I shift into my wolf form, taking the que of Sam and the others, but as soon as I shift I get the full message. It was Esme. We fall back into our human forms and step away, unsure of how to react, unsure of what to do with the mother Cullen.

She stands strongly with her hands on her hips and her eyes darker than I had ever seen, "No one will lay a finger on those babies."

"On behalf of the pack I agree with Carlisle," Sam has stepped forward but in a tentative manner, not to threaten but to disagree.

"Speak for yourself," It is Leah. Since Emily had the baby Leah has turned over a new leaf as if her past with Sam had never happened but now. She has the same force, the same hatred, the same anger, but this time I'm not going to leave her out to dry.

I step forward beside her-making sure not to look at her nakedness because it's way too awkward and she's my sister and I really wish she didn't shift-but I don't say a thing. I stand beside her and she looks at me like she's proud for the first time. She looks at me and nods her head like my backing is giving her some kind of encouragement. She continues, "Those babies can't die."

"How can you say that! Look at what they did to Kim!" Paul's fists are balled tight and he stands beside Sam. He looks so angry but not angry enough to shift just angry enough to fight.

"It wasn't them!" Esme yells in a voice I never thought she could use. It's strong, it's motherly, it's possesive. She steps forward again as if to meet Paul's advances. "It was the Alpha force and I'm unsure if you witnessed but Jacob's spirit followed as well! They are poor innocent children-not even children! They have yet to leave their mother's womb!"

"That's dead! She's dead!" Carlisle...his voice is broken into pieces and I can't look I have to look away. Kim, Jared, Bella, Edward, Jacob, Esme, Paul, Carlisle I can't take these people that I have so much respect for coming apart at the seams. I can't take seeing what has happened. "She's dead and no one can save her. The only reason Kim is alive is because of Jared and his love for her. I **will not** watch these babies grow up to do the same!"

"Who gave you the choice to take their lives away!" Leah screams, stepping to the side to now angle herself next to Esme. "Just because you're the head of the Cullen family doesn't mean you can control these children! Last we saw two of them were Jacob's and they were ALL BELLA'S!"

"Leah shut up! You never even liked Jacob and Bella and now you're trying to hold up their 'last rights?'" Paul's voice booms over the mini arguements that have broken out between everyone and it makes us all step back, makes everyone question Leah's intentions.

"**I DID!" **it's Embry's voice now that silences Paul's echoing voice. He comes forward from behind the group and looks into Paul's eyes to disprove him, "I was Jacob's best friend and his best man. You can't kill those kids. You know Jacob, you know how he was, you know he was a good man and you know he'll come out in them."

"Yeah...he'll come out in them...but so will that thing. Do you really want to see it happen all over again, Embry? Do you want to watch that happen? Do you really think Jacob would want them through what he went," Quil asks his hands balled tight like Paul's and Sam's. It's then that I realize what the truth of the matter is. Kim. For a second my chest quivers as I remember the unbarable anguish that was her death. Shit it still hurts just to think. Being apart of that, being apart of him, apart of everyone thinking of Kim and then thinking about others about Emily and Rachel and Claire it was like I was drowning in so much pain and suffering I wanted to die, I really wanted it to end. I don't think I could take that again and again and again if it were to happen, if it were to continue.

But Esme steps forward with her finger coming out to press in front of his face, "We can raise them to be STRONGER than it. We can raise them to fight it like Jacob did at the end! They will be completely different people. It was too strong for Jacob but we can teach them to overcome it!"

"HE KILLED KIM!" Jared screams, awakening from his slumber in the corner. His face is still distorted with despair and even if Kim is alive now he's right. It did kill Kim. He can't let it kill her again.

Leah opens her mouth to fight back but everything begins a giant whirl of screaming and pushing and now Edward has gotten into it and seems to be picking up everyone's worst fear and using it against them and now it's getting violent and there's pushing and grabbing and screaming and cursing and I just can't take another battle. Not like this...not when I know babies are going to die at the end of it...because they will. It's Carlisle, Paul, Sam, Quil and Jared against Esme, Edward, Leah, and Embry and not even Edward's abilities can defeat the devotion of someone that has imprinted.

I look away and suddenly realize Alice and Jasper are gone. Not too gone because I can still catch their scent but they aren't here, they aren't in the fight. I look to Bella's open carcass and see she is empty and the babies aren't there and the babies aren't crying. For some reason my heart starts to beat so fast and I think...maybe they're killing them...but they can't. I start walking in the direction of their scent because maybe if I tell them my idea, two people who are calm and level-headed, they will listen and we can send the three babies to opposite ends of the world and we won't have to worry about any of this ever again. It'll be the best of both worlds. Everyone will be safe.

"Shhh, shh, shh. Jasper can you try a little harder with Marley she seems to be very upset."

It's a nursery, something I never noticed before. It's bare, very bare, but there's a huge white crib with intricate designs carved into the wood and there's a large changing table where Alice and Jasper stand now. They babies aren't covered in blood anymore, the little sink beside the table is covered in blood which means they have been cleaned. I don't know what they're trying to do...if they decide to kill the babies...all of this is for nothing.

"Seth?" I look up and Alice is staring at me.

"I don't think we should kill them...I think we should send them to different places so they're not together and they're not dangerous," I spill out just because I want SOMEONE to know what I was thinking.

She smiles softly and nods her head, "That's a nice idea. Can you please wait here? Mason and J.J. are sleeping but Marley here needs something to drink. I made a bottle, you know how to feed a baby right?"

I extend my arms weakly, nodding my head, "I fed Chloe the other day, I can do it."

Alice puts the baby in my arms but I'm not looking at the baby moving around in my arms I'm looking at her. For just having had her best friend die she has a smile on her face as if she never heard of saddness. She's much different from the girl that was digging her face in the snow or the girl that was getting beat into the ground or the girl that was trying so hard to make everything work. She looks like a young high school girl, a regular teenage girl, babysitting with her boyfriend. She doesn't look like a girl on the way to seperate a massive fight.

"Come on Jasper, we have to calm them down," Alice smiles softly, taking his arm and pulling him away to the fight that has grown physical and terrifying.

I shake my head and squeeze my eyes shut trying to find a second to breathe and to calm down and to relax. But it's so hard to relax with the baby twisting in my arms. My arm tightens slightly so I can hold her and I look down at the bottle Alice has put into my hands. It has her name on it in cursive. It says _Marley Isabella Black _and I look on the counter to see one that says _Jacob William Black _and another one that says _Mason Charles Cullen. _They want these babies. Alice has no intention of giving them up...but the others have no intention of letting them live.

A small cry catches my attention and I look down to Mar...

_In her eyes...in her eyes in her small brown eyes everything comes together at once like a rush of color and waves washing over me and pulling me deep under where she swims with me taking me farther and farther down into the deep blue sea I love so 's small and weak in my arms and I become the friend, the protector, the companion that she will need to survive her life. i become something so much more than I ever had the chance to be. In her eyes. In her small brown eyes..I imprint._

"YOU CAN'T DO IT!"

My eyes are yanked from Marley's in my arms and I burst back into the reality in which her life is threatened and I can't let her die. I can't let that happen at all. I run through the back door and rush into the woods that have been destroyed by the battles that don't matter quite so much anymore. Not now that there's so much more to life. But what am I going to do? I'm just a kid, I don't know anything about raising a kid and I have no money and no experience doing anything if I try to even rent a hotel with Marley they're going to send me straight to the police. How do I...

Is that-?

Rosalie.


	32. Chapter 32

**Rosalie's POV**

"She's gonna be alright, Ms. Hale and Mr. Cullen, she's stable," Richard tells me although I am already aware because of the consistant beating of her heart and the constant beep of the machine. Her room is the private suite, Emmett's suggestion in case Jared were to come storming here and needed some alone time with her to explain her recovery.

"Thank you, so much Richard," I sigh as I cast my glance over Kim who lays sleeping. It amazes me how strong these women are, the ones that are imprinted upon. I had once suspected that it was their luck but as I have seen throughout our entire course together it is really the men with all the luck.

Richard hangs his head and begins to walk away but Emmett stops him, "Rich...do us a favor...please look after her. Please?"

He nods his head, "Yeah but can you do me a favor too?"

Our interest is peaked. Emmett runs his hand up my back and holds onto my shoulder as he answers, "Sure...what is it?"

"Tell Ed that I'm super fucking disappointed."

It's something in the way that he delivers this message that fills me with so much amusement I open my mouth to laugh but Emmett's hand wraps around my mouth so that I can't. He nods his head, "Will do man."

Richard leaves the room and now I am able to let out my laughter that he forced me to hold in. I'm half sure that Emmett is going to reprimand me but instead he joins in and we both begin to laugh together, something we had never considered doing since we had left Bella and Jacob bleeding together on the floor beside each other. It seemed that there was no longer anyway to find humor in little things but Richard reminded us that there is a way to be happy, at least sometimes.

It is Emmett that breaks our fit and brings us back into reality, "We should go back and see how we can help. I'm sure they're probably fighting all over again."

His words hit chords inside of me and fill me with a sense of despair and discouragment. I don't want to return to that. I want to go away as he had suggested not too long ago in the woods when I was still deformed. I want to run away to Esme's Isle or to one of our many homes in _any _other location. I don't want to go back to our destroyed house, I don't want to see those bodies.

"Babe," Emmett's arms wrap around me tight and hold me against him in such a way that I melt into nothingness inside of his chest. It's so easy for him to remind me of how all the hard things, all the horrible things are just outside of his arms and no where in my home.

I smile softly as I look up at him and place the gentlest kiss on his chin, "Alright, let's go."

That big grin of his takes his face along with those dimples that I love so much. Why does he constantly remind me of how lucky that I am? He releases me only for half a second so that he can reposistion himself with his arm around my shoulders and my arms around his middle. I love walking in this manner even if it is through the middle of a hospital. It lets everyone know exactly what the deal is. He is mine and I am his, forever. Nothing can ever change that, not even death.

We step outside into the cool air and I can just faintly hear the screams of Carlisle saying, "That's dead! She's dead!"

A shiver runs through me that Emmett can feel but has no ability to stop or calm. Both his arms wrap around me and I wrap my arms around them as well to keep them there. Never in my life with Carlisle had I heard him use that tone, never had I heard his voice get that loud. Emmett leans down and presses his lips to my ear, "It's fine. It's most likely just another arguement. We'll go take care of it."

I close my eyes tightly and lean my face into his arm, "What if our family can never be fixed, Emmett? What if we're going to be alone forever?"

"We'll never be alone, Rose, you know that," he says in a desperate tone that makes me smile because I do know that.

I nod my head and kiss his chest, "We have each other, that's all we need."

"You think we should clean up the mess we made on the highway?" Emmett asks, reminding me of the carnage and wreckage that was there. If anyone were to see it they would have questions, questions no one can answer.

"Emmett, you are a genius," I grin before turning my head to peak at him over my shoulder, "Race you there?"

He opens my mouth to speak but I am already in motion. That is one of the many things that I love about my big monkey-man, there is never a dull moment and he is always up for anything. Whether it's racing or fighting or...other stuff...he's never afraid to jump right in and make some fun out of it. We's always ready to make me laugh and smile, especially when we need it the most.

"Beat you!" I shout as I come to a stop on the highway. In honesty I cheated by lifting up a root under a tree I knew he wouldn't notice, causing him to slow down behind by an inch.

"That's not fair! I tripped!" he protests as he stops in front of the car that monster Jacob had destroyed. "I'll go get these two, you go get ours."

"And what are we going to do with them?" I ask with my hands on my waist and a little snooty.

"We're going to take them to the garage and you and Edward are going to fix them," He answers in the exact same tone but this does raise a challenge. These cars appear to be beyond repairable...maybe it will be another way to destract us.

"Fine," I huff and walk to the car the Alice had driven straight into a tree. I catch the scent of dying blood and know that it belongs to Bella...or it had belonged to her what feels like a long time ago. I pull it back from around the trunk and I lift it over my head, like a protective shield from the snow falling from the tree tops. I turn around and call, "Come on, Emmett I don't have all day!"

Boom!

Emmett shoots out of the sky and lands ahead of me with both cars pan-caked above him. He gives me his unbelievable sexy smirk as he says, "You were saying?"

I roll my eyes but can't hide my smile. He knows what he does to me. It takes us 58 seconds to get to the garage that lays 2 acres from our home...what is left of it. Once there Emmett opens the garage doors for me and I lay the vehicle on the ground while Emmett lays the two he had retrieved beside it. I reach forward to his arm and hold it between both of mind as I stare at the work ahead of us, "These are going to be tough."

"Nothing you can't handle," he says as he leans down and lifts my face up to meet his.

I stand up on my tipy-toes and place a kiss on his lips before repeating, "Nothing."

There is a hesitation in the moment after that implies we would fall into one of our three day matches or move on with our way. We decide to move on and wait for a time that isn't so tainted by death and despair. We walk from the garage and begin heading back to our home through the woods, "I'm thinking a large vacation is in order."

"Mmmmm, I second tha-"

"Rose?"

It's Seth's voice and from the way he says my name I know he is crying. He is somewhere in the woods but we don't stop to figure out where, we find him. He has been climbing through the snow, tripping over roots he can't see with his arms occupied by holding some bundle. My heart...my heart begins to break as I see the terror and panic on his face and the tears that won't stop falling. I rush to him and wrap my arms around his burning head to hold it to my chest.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I ask, gently caressing the sides of his face.

"I-I...G-Guys I n-need your h-elp. Please!" he shouts still crying as he slowly loosens his arms. I pull back slowly and peak downward to see in his arms, in the bundle, is Bella's little baby girl. I step back and to Emmett, completely shocked but he sees our expression and jumps into an explanation, "They're fighting over if we should kill the babies or keep them and I thought we should just send them away to different places so they don't meet and use the Alpha force because it got split into them and I went to go tell Alice but she went with Jasper to try and stop everyone because they're hurting each other all over again and I just went to tell her and then I saw Marley and then I imprinted on her and then I took her because they CAN'T kill her and I don't know what to do! I'm so scared! I need your help! Please Emmett! What if they were going to kill Rosalie! What would you do?! What would you do?!"

He's broken into a full sob and now the little baby, Marley begins to cry to. At the sound of her cries he calms and begins to rock her so that she can stop but it's a useless attempt, he's holding her all wrong. I can't take watching him falling to pieces, the little wolf boy that always smiles, I can't see another person I love destroyed. I look up to Emmett with pleading eyes but he's already sold, Edward gave us a peak into Jared despair...we don't want to feel that way, ever again.

"Alright, we have a house in Ireland we can flea to now and then we'll figure everything out there. But, man, I don't know the first thing about babies," Emmett says as if children are a foreign concept.

I can't help but laugh at his expression that is so terrified and Seth's that is so relieved. I reach my arms forward and pluck little Marley from his arms as we begin moving. Instantly she stops crying and I wrap the blanket around her a little tighter so that she doesn't get cold. She's beautiful with eyes just like Bella's and hair like hers as well. Her heart beat is slightly faster than a normal babies should be, I can tell from my observations at the maternity ward, and she is smaller too. But she is healthy, I can hear no defects. Her skin has a tannish hint to it but when I stroke her cheek I feel the texture similar to that of our own, hard like vampire skin but she is not half vampire. It is a mystery that Carlisle must solve...but he cannot.

"Is there anything wrong with her?" Seth asks, hovering around me like a nervous fruitfly.

Emmett is on the phone, making our arrangements so I speak in a hushed voice, "No...but we need to retrieve food for her. She must eat soon."

"Alice gave me this."

From his pocket he pulls forth the most beautiful glass bottle with the name _Marley Isabella Black _written in script on it. Little Alice...she must have seen this. I'll write a letter to her soon...I can't go on without letting her know that I miss her and that I am sorry.

I look to Seth and smile, "Good job. Everything is going to be perfect, just so you know. We're going to take great care of the both of you. This will all work out."


	33. Chapter 33

**Edward's POV**

"It's _**MY**_ son," I say fiercely as I pin Jared down beneath me with his arms behind his head and it seems that declaration is all that we need to end this fight.

Jared goes weak under me as well as all the others who were in the middle of their private disagreements. They hadn't realized what they were really attempting to destroy, they had forgotten that I had lost more than them in this transaction. Sure, Kim was dead but now she was alive. I didn't have that kind of luxury. Carlisle is the first to stand at his feet but his mind is hardly composed. He is a blur of self-hate and confusion that I cannot make my primary focus now. I have to save my child, I have to save Mason.

"I understand if you all feel that these children are an abomination but they are NONE OF YOUR CONCERN. My son is there and with him are his brother and his sister and it is evident here that I am the only one that can make a valid decision on the wellfare of their life. They will be MY responsibility, not yours," my words are final which indicate to them that there is no question in the manner. Not at all.

"Edward," Alice's voice is soft and gentle as she comes to my side, "You don't have to do this on your own...Seth h-"

"Seth! Where is he?! Seth!" It's Leah who looks around in fear and confusion. Her mind races with blind worry as she lets go of her wild animal and returns to her real self. Her hands reach at her body to cover herself up.

"Seth had an idea that we seperate them so that the Alpha spirit will never be complete and it appears that he has stuck to it. He has left with Marley and has rejoined with Rosalie and Emmett," Alice answers Leahs frantic questions with calm reassurance.

"Wh...Why would he do that?" Leah reaches for the robe Esme has offered to her and she slips it on now but the image of her body is burned into Embry's mind.

"He has imprinted on her."

A collective breath is drawn and everything comes to a halt. Our fight was useless. We have scared him away. Leah takes in a deep breath as she nods, her eyes watering as she thinks of her poor brother in his confused state, "He...He has?"

"It's not forever, once we explain that the children are not in danger he will relax," Alice smiles softly, nodding her head at once to calm Leah's worries.

"Well...he's right. We have to seperate them...and if he can do it so can I. I will take Jacob's so-"

"No. I will have the charge over Jacob's son. As his best friend it is my duty," Embry's chest shivers but it is at the chance to be with Leah. The spat earlier with Leah about Collin and Brady had awakened a new fantasy inside of him, one of growing older and raising a child.

"Don't be stupid Embry you can't raise a chil-"

"And neither can you!" he snaps before Leah can finish her sentence.

"You both obviously have an interest in the child's life...it might be best if you both split custody of him, that way he won't be devoid of a male presence and a female presence," Sam offers with excitement in his eyes as he imagins a possibility in which Leah is happy, once and for all.

_**No...no don't take him away too...Please! Don't take him away too!**_

His thoughts are urgent and strong and the pain that it gives me is new and horrible. We walk to the room the nursery, the nursery Alice had attempted to construct but had no time at all. Mason has begun to cry and I can't help but to act and to take him into my arms to console him, but there is no way to console my crying child, not when he has lost so much and is to lose more.

_**Please! Please!**_

I lean my head downward to his face. His heart is beating so quickly, far more rapid than a regular humans, and his skin is a soft pale that is strong like our vampire skin but he has blood and I can smell that it is just like his mother's. His eyes open and they are the wide green I remember were my own from so long ago. I lean down and whisper in his ear, "I'm so sorry, Mason, I'm so sorry. It's for the best, please, it's for the best."

_**Please don't take him away too...Please don't take my brother...**_

"It's for the best," I whisper again as I hold him against me gently, even more gently than that little buble that I used to demenstrate Bella's own fragility.

I look up and see that Leah has lifted up J.J. who lays in slumber, almost a mirror image of Rachel's memories of Jacob as a baby. The wolves leave one by one and there is the mental apology and the mental promise that we will stay in touch that the bond we had created here is not dead. Sam leaves last and places his hand on my shoulder. He looks down at Mason and then up into my eyes. He whispers lightly, "I'm sorry, Edward."

My eyes meet his as I nod and say, "I forgive you."


	34. Epilogue

**Epilogue: The Kids: Five Years Later**

_**Jacob Junior**_

"J.J. it's time to wake up!" Embry called over his shoulder in the kitchen that proved to be too small for him in their little apartment. But still, he continued to flip the pancakes. "Leah, go make sure he's awake."

Leah zipped from place to place in her bra and skirt as she pinned that freshly ripped skirt together with clothes pins, "I don't know if the smoke from the burning pancakes is bluring your vision or not but I'm a little busy."

"And what, I'm not? Do you even remember what you said last night? You said you wouldn't belittle me anymore," Embry snapped in his quiet voice that insured J.J. wouldn't understand, even if he could hear.

"Em..." Leah sighed as she scooted behind him to get the white shirt she had left from last nights romp in the kitchen, "I'm sorry."

It was impossible to hide the smile that bloomed onto Embry's face and even from behind Leah could see it. She slipped into her white shirt but an unmistakable rip caught her attention, "Fuck Embry! This was my last white shirt!"

"What did we say about cursing in front of J.J.?!" Embry shouted back, turning off the burner as he turned around with the large plate of pancakes.

"He's still sle-J.J. wake up! You're going to miss the bus!" Leah screamed, making sure to stomp especially loud in her heels to awaken him.

"Don't yell at him like that! You're going to traumatize the poor kid!" Embry warned, placing the pancakes on the table before running down the narrow hallway to the poor kid's room.

Inside, just like...just like his dad, J.J. laid sprawled over every surface of his bed as if he hadn't gotten any sleep last night-again. But the uneven breathing was a dead ringer for the truth. J.J. was awake. With a grin, Embry leaned on his knees, hunched over Jay and using full care he scooped him up off of the bed and into the air. The breathing hiched, he knew what was next, and once he was in the air-high off the ground-Embry began to loosen his grip but before he could let go J.J. opened his brown eyes and with a scream shouted, "Don't let me go!"

Embry let out a laugh, a real laugh that Jacob and Quil could only make him give, and held onto J.J. tight, "I thought you were asleep!"

J.J. tried to pull away, pushed and tugged and punched at Embry's skin as he shouted, "I was asleep but you woke me up! I don't want to go t o school today! Please?"

"Why not?" Embry asked as he blocked each of the little guy's hits, "Are you getting bullied in school? What did I teach you about self defense?"

"I'm not getting bullied," J.J. pouts, "I'm tired...The dreams bothered me again last night and I couldn't sleep and Ms. Pickler said if I fall asleep in class again I'm going to get in trouble."

Embry sighed heavily, looking into his eyes and seeing that he was not lying. He looked exhausted. J.J. waited, looking so much like the person that was lost and even more like someone brand new. Em couldn't help but to crack a smile and whisper, "Fine, but get dressed and eat some pancakes. I'll take care of you."

J.J. nodded his head with a grin, "Got it, dude."

"All of my clothes are ripped!" Leah screamed from somewhere in the back of the apartment. J.J. rolled pushed Embry with no success toward the door, mouthing 'You deal with her.' While Embry plucked him by the back of his pajamas and showed him to the door, mouthing back 'No you!' But it was Embry's card that was pulled, "Embry!"

J.J. climbed out of his grip and ran back into the comfort of his bed while with a low head Embry walked out into the hall. It was the voice she used when one of the boys were in trouble and it was a voice they had both grown to fear greatly for it meant someone was going to get yelled at. With the knowledge that it would be him, Embry spoke a quiet, "Yes, Dear?"

But there was no answer. Embry was confused by the lack of response. His 'Yes Dear?'s always came with a rude response. He tip-toed out into the hall and there stood-in her heals with her bun at the top of her head in her skirt with one of his white t-shirts manipulated to look flatering-holding a pair of his dirty jeans and the ring he had been waiting for the right time to give her.

Her face was covered in tears that never showed and Embry ran to her, throwing his arms around her in his submissive way that apologized without words. He knew it had been a dumb idea. But there was something odd. While the jeans fell to the ground the velvet box stayed clutched in her hand and she was silent, not yet calling him 'Stupid, Stupid, Stupid Mutt.' Embry pulled away carefully, searching her eyes for something but they were cast down and her lips was inside of her mouth. Did she want him to ask? Embry took the box from her hand, making sure to keep his face still close to hers, as he opened it to reveal a ring Edward had helped him pick out and pay for. He whispered in his soft breath, "Leah...will you marry me?"

"Marry you?" she asked in the tone he had expected. Bewildered, terrified, disgusted, horrified, unsure, panicked, thrilled.

"Marry me," he repeated, pushing the box back into her palm although her fingers were still limp.

"Embry, we talked about this. We're...we're-"

"That didn't stop us from falling in love and you can't deny that we are. We've been living together for four years, we've been doing it for three, we've been saying it for two, we've been meaning it for one. You can't look me in the eyes and say this honestly isn't the next step because it is. This is what's waiting for u-"

"How are we going to pay for a weddin-?"

"The Cullen-"

"The fucking Cullens Embry? Really? You think they're gonna help u-"

"Stop. You can't say they don't like us. You can't say you don't see how happy they get when we bring J.J. to visit Mase every fall or when we bring J.J. to visit Marley in the summer. I talked to Edward anyway. He said Alice is already planning i-"

"You don't even know what I'm going to say," she snapped, shutting him up. Her mouth was a solid line that no kisses could unleash while her fist was hard, not accepting the box.

It was now that Embry decided he would lift up his hands, box included, and take hold of her arms tightly. He looked her in the eyes, although she tried to look away, and said in a strong voice, "Don't do that Leah. Don't get all cold and wall yourself up again. I'm not going to imprint on **any** one. It's been five years and I've been **looking**, looking hard and there's no else, Leah. There's no else out there for me but you and if you can't get over that then what are we doing here, Leah? With J.J. If we're not going to take this serious then why are we confusing him?"

"Shut up, Embry, you don't know what you're talking about! You're just stupi-"

Embry grabbed her face at this point, gentle but firmly, and looked into her crying eyes as he said, "I know. I know, that right now, right here I'm asking a lot of you. I'm asking you to share the sun and the stars but don't you think we'll be a whole lot happier if you do?"

She pulled her chin away, bringing her hands up to push Embry away, "I don't know."

"I'm not Sam, Leah, I'm not him. You don't have to do this to me. It's not going to be any different, it doesn't mean anythin-"

"It means everything!" She screamed, pushing Embry against the wall so hard his back made a perminant indentation. Her eyes became blacker and darker and yet so red and firey as she screamed, "It means that if you leave me it's not going to be just awkward at reunions! It's not just going to be weird when we phase! If you leave m-"

"I'm not going to leave you!" Embry yelled in the same harsh tone she used to barrate him. He threw the box against the ground and continued, "Why can't you see that! If I didn't want to be with you I wouldn't be here right now! I wouldn't listen to all the shit that you give me and I wouldn't take any of it but I love you, Leah and I'm not going anywhere!"

"You don't know that you won-!"

"You don't know that I will!" Embry shouted in a quieter voice that called for attention. His hand snatched hers and held it gently, allowing her the chance to pull away, as he petted it and continued, "I'm scared you might leave me too, Leah. But I trust you. I trust that you love me and you won't hurt me, Le...Please...what do we have to lose? If you say yes? If we get married, go crazy, have fun, give J.J. a real home? What do we have to lose? Even if it's just for a little while."

With her hand still in his Embry lowered himself to the ground on one knee, reaching for the box that contained the ring. He pulled the ring from its holder and looked up into her eyes. His knee felt the pressure of their five year relationship and his life-long crush. But he was not going to give up.

"Leah...will you marry me?" Embry asked, this time his tone was different though. His voice sounded as if it wasn't a question. His words sounded switched and order as if to say 'Leah, you will marry me.' There was nothing really left for her to protest.

With a weak nod of her head she answered, "Yes."

Before she was aware what she had done she was in the air with the ring on her finger and Embry's arms around her and she was being twirled in the air as if she were a child again. She laughed out, not because the situation was funny but because they were. She felt there was no hope for the future and still...there they were...hoping. J.J. ran out of his room with a grin, "What did she say?!"

"She said yes!" Embry yelled with joy, rushing over to him with Leah still over his shoulder, "We're getting married!"

"Yes!" He shouted as Embry picked him up into the air too. They were getting married.

_**Mason**_

The sun had just bairly began to trinkle through the light of Mason's room before he heard his father and his grandfather come home. He didn't bother hiding back in bed. Although he was only five human years old his mentality had reached the mature state of sixteen and he no longer cared what his elders thought. Instead of hiding he stayed at his computer desk and continued to search through the photo album Alice had created-with much begging-of his mother.

There were pictures of her, Isabella Marie Black, on her wedding day with Jacob. There were pictures of them holding hands at the beach, pictures of them at parties, pictures of them hidden away in deep conversation, of her on his shoulders, of them on dates, pictures of intimate things only they would keep in their posession. And then there were other pictures. Pictures of her when she was Bella Swan. When she was in love with Edward Cullen and for the only time in history Edward looked happy in his miserable way. There were pictures on birthdays, pictures on trips, pictures of sleepy days and secret dates. There were lots of pictures that Alice found.

"Look who's up early."

Mason shut the photo album and weakly spun around in his chair. It was his father. Although he cared little of what his father thought about his search for Bella he still wanted to avoid the look he had when ver he asked about her. He wanted to avoid that staring off Edward did that made everyone felt...very uncomfortable.

"What was it today? Couldn't sleep?" Edward asked wth that smile that was never truly happy and yet happy enough to be what it was.

"Bad dream," Mason answered weakly, not bothering to hide how annoyed being in his father's presence made him.

"Same thing? The monster?" Edward continued, stepping around the room to pick up a tossed article of clothing or to place something that had fallen back onto the shelf.

"Is it ever anything different?" Mason replied, turning back around to trace the cover of the photo album.

A hardly audible sigh was heard from Edward, where ever he was around the room, before he spoke, "Esme told me you declined public school again."

"Do we really have to talk about this now?" For some reason speaking to his father reminded Mason how exhausted he actually was.

"It's unhealthy for you to stay in your room all day...on the computer...You need human interaction, Mason, " it was the 'human interaction' speech again. Could Edward become anymore predictable.

Mason groaned bitterly, "I help at the hospital."

"That doesn't count," Edward sighed again, not bothering to hide this one from his son. "You need friends."

"I have friends," Mason snapped as he slammed his balled fist against the desk. It creaked under the pressure but didn't brake this time. Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice had used some special material to protect against Mason's outbursts.

Edward kept silent, allowing the comment to remain in the air. At Mason's age he found it nearly impossible to speak to him, he was so much like his mother. Instead of replying he decided to take it upon himself to make Mason's bed that still appeared slept in, but still, he couldn't keep silent for long, "Friends your own age. J.J. and Marley are too youn-"

"Who's fault is that?!" Mason shouted, causing a momentary pause in action in the house but it continued as he spoke, "I want to see them again."

"Maso-"

"I want to see my brother and siste-"

"Mason!" Edward's voice was loud enough to be heard over Mason's demanding order. He never liked to raise his voice but much like Bella...Mason just was unable to listen. It wasn't unless Edward yelled or used force did he ever pay attention.

"What?" Mason asked quietly, now finding it unbairable to look at his father.

"I have news to share with you," there was a hidden smile in his voice that caught Mason's attention. "Alice is in the process of planning the wedding of Leah and Embry."

Mason took in a breath. He had only met Leah and Embry twice and that was on the rare occasions he was allowed to see J.J. but even with his few memories it was still a surprise to hear they were engaged. But then...something else caught his thoughts. He looked up at Edward, "Where is it being held?"

"Here," Edward grinned, "You're going to see your siblings again, Mason. You're going to see them very soon."

_**Marley**_

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Marley, go back to sleep, it's only 4:30! Lessons don't begin until 8!"

"No! Wake up! Wake up Seth!"

"I'm not going to wake up."

"Please?!"

"That's not going to work on me this time."

"Please?"

"No, Marley."

"But..Seth...?"

"Yeah?"

"Please?"

Seth lifted his head from beneath the pillow with a sullen sigh. How could he deny her? She was already dressed in the usual pink princess dress with all the ruffles and ribbons and Rosalie had already done her hair in the beautiful little ringlets that bounced as she did, there was no chance he would sleep now. Seth sat up with a groan, extending his hand like a servant and waiting for her to grab it.

"Seth! Silly! Put on some clothes! You're naked!" Marley giggled as she hopped away, her new thing, to the closet to get him the pants that were laying on his chair.

In truth he was not naked at all, he was fully clothed in his sleeping clothes, but to her if he did not wear one of the prince uniforms he wasn't dressed at all. Seth opened his eyes briefly, the lights of the eiffel tower were still illuminated and only gave him more to complain inwardly about. He stood from the bed and extended his arms so Marley could throw the clothes onto them as if he were a hanger. Sometimes, Seth greatly disliked the fashion-sense Rosalie and Alice forced into her.

"Wow! Seth, you're going to look _so _handsome!" she gushed in the tone that always made Seth melt to her will. Even at this young age she knew, with dominance, that she had possesion over him and there was almost no way he could deny her.

"Thanks," Seth yawned, placing the clothes on his computer desk so he could turn around and began making his bed. "Marley, did you make your bed yet?"

"Noooo," she drawled, spinning from side to side so her dress could move along with it.

"Are you going to make your bed?" Seth asked, knowing the answer before she even spoke.

"Nooo," she said in the same tone, adding a string of giggles before running out into the hallway.

Seth rolled his eyes. She was so spoiled. Once she was out of the room though, Seth did oblige to her command as he began to get dressed in the outfit she had picked out for him. He knew that he was part of the reason she was so spoiled but that was the part that couldn't help it. She was his imprintee! He was forced by law to do as she said! But Emmett and Rosalie were different problem. They leaped at the chance to give her as she pleased and Seth could hear in the distance as Marley ordered Rose to make her fly as she ordered Emmett to make her chocolate chip pancakes. She always had her away.

Seth brushed his teeth and combed his hair in the way that she liked, hating it every second and still loving it just the same. This was a far different life from the one he left behind. As he walked out into the hall he had to admit, living under the care of the Cullens was pretty wonderful. Every year, so far, they moved to a new high class place. The first year of Marley's birth they lived in some huge mansion in London, the second year Ireland, then Spain, then Esme's Isle, and now France, and not just France-_Paris_, France.

Yeah, life was pretty good.

But still. Seth could not admit things were perfect. There were still the nightmares. The reason Marley woke so early and slept so late and always with him. Although Rose and Emmett seemed to think it was nothing to be concerned with, he was very, very concerned.

"Oh, look who decided to wake up," Emmett smirked, wearing his king banana crown that brought so much enjoyment to Marley's life.

"It's Prince Charming," Rosalie grinned as she pinched Seth's cheek, making Marley do the same.

For some reason it seemed as if they found more enjoyment out of the imprinting arrangement than Marley and Seth themselves. However the truth of the matter was that Marley enjoyed it the most. The more she made Seth do things for her, the more Rose and Emmett laughed and the more they gave her what she wanted. All around it was a win/win situation for her. But not for Seth.

He could see in her tired little eyes that she was exhausted, running on fumes as Paul would say, and soon she was going to collapse. There was no other outcome he could see. The bruises under her eyes matched the Cullens, along with her appetite. It was as if Seth was the only one that ate human food at all anymore. Sure, Emmett made her favorites-the chocolate chip pancakes, the french fries, the grilled carrots-but she hardly took any bites. The Cullens may not have noticed but he did. She wasn't doing so well.

"Seth, I've got sausage and bacon coming up along with the cakes. Have any other requests?" Emmett asked, making his hat jiggle so that Marley could fill up the room with laughter.

Seth shook his head, "No, that's alright."

"Here's some coffee," Rosalie smirked, placing it on before him as he sat at the table, "You're going to need it."

"Can we talk?" Seth asked suddenly, changing the joyful atmostphere to one of seriousness. Marley's cool face instantly cracked, releasing a waterfall of tears that were followed by little squieks and cries. "Marley! No, you're not in trouble!"

She curled up into Rosalie's arms despite Rosalie's shell-shocked expression, this episode was new. Rose tried to calm her down but she could hardly get a word out, "Mar-...Marley, Marley...listen! Calm! ShhhShhhShhh, pretty baby, Shhh!"

"Look at the funny hat, baby! Look at the funny hat!" Emmett tried shouting, making his hat move and jingle the way that she loved but still, nothing.

Seth took a sip of the coffee as he stood up. He knew he was the only one that could help soothe her cries. He reached his arms outward and instantly she fell into them, her cries becoming a soft whimper. She curled up against him, holding onto his lapels as she dug her face into his chest and Seth had to admit he did enjoy being the only to comfort her and the only she would listen to. Seth rubbed her head gently as he sighed, "Marley...I just want to talk about why you don't feel so good. Okay? You yell at us, we don't yell at you. Just tell us what's bothering you. Alright?"

Although the tears had stopped flowing there was still the sound of fear that escaped her lips and her large brown eyes that seemed to fill up every surface of the room. She shook her head, the curls falling down from the little up-doe Rosalie had done for her.

"Is it the nightmares?"

There was the slightest hesitation, a tiny lip quiver and then the tears began again. Seth's eyes turned to Rosalie but she had the same terrified expression as Emmett. If it weren't for the pain that ripped open his chest Seth would have found it funny that the two strongest vampires were undone by a five-year old girl. But the pain was inside of him and the harder she cried the worse it became.

"Marley, talk to us! Please? We want to help you and we can't help you if you keep crying," Seth whipsered in the strong tone he used and she listened to. The more he continued the quieter she got but still there was the fear that was evident inside each of her trembles. Seth continued, "Is it the nightmares?"

Weakly she nodded her head and added softly, "They keep getting scarier."

"What happens in it, Marl?" Emmett asked, coming to help and plucking the little girl from Seth's arms.

"There's a big monster and he keeps chasing me because he's hungry and he wants to eat me because I'm just big enough to fit into his mouth and when I sleep he gets closer and closer and I'm scared he's going to gobble me all up," by the time she finished the last sentece the tears began again and her voice became hardly distinguishable.

"You're afraid of a big monster?" Rosalie's tone is amused although no one in the room feels that way. "Well...do you remember on Esme's Isle when Daddy Emmett and Seth picked up all those trees to make your playhouse? And do you remember when you tried to do the same? And you couldn't even pick it up a little bit?"

A soft smile formed on little Marley's face that made the tension in the room evaporate. She nodded her head quickly, "Yeah! It was so heavy!"

"Well...did you know that no one can lift up those trees like that? Not even monsters?" she asked and for the first time Seth was amazed because she almost looked human. Really human.

"Not even monsters?" Marley repeated in amazement.

This time Emmett answered with a grin, "Not even monsters. Now do you want to know what I do to keep the monsters away?"

"Yes!" Marley shouted in a way that made Rosalie laugh as she sat at the table to check the mail.

"I get even bigger," Emmett grinned, throwing Marley in the air and unleasing the giggles yet again, "Come on! The pancakes are done! Who's hungry!"

Seth and Marley, as always, shouted in sync, "Me!"

They sat down at the table and laughed, poking each other and reciting the old Romeo and Juliet lines the tutor had them memorize as Emmett served them in a hibachi style. It seemed as if everything was back to its wonderfulself, even better, until Rosiel took in a little gasp, "Ohh-ohh."

The room turned and hung upon Rosalie's next words.

"Looks like Leah and Embry are getting married."


End file.
